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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at|http : //books . google . com/ mm. ltES£AtlCti LIBRARIES IJIm >r: |l II 3 3433 07587991 0 ("■^ \ ' L J. ^ '"^"''t / THE END OF A GLORIOUS RETGN. "7 THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE AND ILLUSTRIOUS REIGN OF Queen Victoria By BEV. JOHN BUSK, Fh.D. L ^y^ MEMOTtlAL VOLJJME An accurate and authentic account of the late Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, relating the incidents and events of her public AND private life, TOGETHER WITH A SUMMARY OF THE splendid achievements of her reign, sk^ches of Royalty, and of the leading statesmen of her time. Also a concise History of England and her Colonies DURING the Victorian Era. jcjcjcjcjcjc^^ji PROFUSELY AND SUPERBLY ILLX/ST'RATETi "Her court was pure, her life serene, God gave her peace; her land reposed; A thousand claims to reverence closed In her as Mother, Wife and Queen." — TBKjrraoN. HOLLAND & CHRISTIE, Nbw York. //^' ,> \ THF NrV •;"'■'*■'' OOPYRIGHT, 1901, BY K. T. BOLAND. PREFACE. rOR anyone who recognizes the womanly virtues and the royal graces of Queen Victoria, the authorship, compilation and edit- ing of such a work as this must needs be a labor of love. Few undertakings could be more attractive than this to one born a subject of the Queen and now a citizen of the great Republic which has shared the grief of the British Empire in its loss, to a degree that proves how strong are the ties that bind the two countries. The puri)ose of this work is to furnish the reader an ample yet con- venient biography of Queen Victoria, the greatest of all the English monarchs for several centuries, if not for all time, and to accompany the biography with such historical matter as will serve to indicate the won- derful progress of the British Enlpire during the reign which has given to the nineteenth century the recognized name of "The Victorian Era.'' The life of the Queen and the history of her realm were so inextricably mingled that no volume would serve fully which failed to take cogni- zance of her reign as a monarch as truly as of her personality as a woman. In brief, then, this work may be accepted as an account of the personal life of Victoria of the House of Quelph, her domestic relations as child, maiden, wife, mother and widow, her tastes and abilities, her characteristics and her friendships, and at the same time as a history of the British Empire during the period of her long occupancy of the throne. Her influence upon domestic legislation, her stand for peace with other powers when wars threatened, her friendship for the United States which served us well in the days of the war between North and South, the loyalty of the colonies throughout the world, which bound the British Empire into a unity stronger than laws could do, all these facts are emphasized in due proportion to their importance. In the preparation of this work, access has been sought to all the more satisfactory sources of information. Long and sympa- thetic attention to the history of the British Empire and the life and work of the Queen has been supplemented by the mass of published contributions to the same subject. Biographies, char- « 8 PREFACE. acterbationg and studies of Queen Victoria by her private librarian and by Jeffersoni Barnett Smith, Grace Greenwood, Tooley, Humphrey and others have been scrutinized; histories of England which gave due consideration to the reign of Victoria have been at hand; lives, reminis- cences and memoirs of men and women whose position brought them into contact wit^ either tl^e political or the personal life of court and kingdom have furnished much of an anecdotal character; biographies of Gladstone, Palmerston, Melbourne, Peel, Disraeli, Rosebery and the other great prime ministers of the Queen have contributed to the his- torical side of the work; finally the "Life of the Prince CJonsort,*' super- vised and in large degree written by the Queen herself, and her own two volumes of "Leaves from Our Journal in the Highlands^ have been sources of interesting material. To all the authors thus laid under tribute as well as to the writers of the press who necessarily furnish the later details of the last days .of the Queen's life, full appreciation and gratitude is tendered for their courteous services. It is impossible that new things should be said about the life of a monarch whose doings were watched and reported in detail for more than sixty years. Yet to gather into convenient compass the salient features of such a career may be thought not an unimportant task. It is in this spirit that the work is offered to the public by THE AUTHOR. ^ \ CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. The Father and Mother of Victoria— Birth of the Prlnceas— A Welcome Child— Stories of Babyhood — ^Death of the Duke of Kent— Life in Kensington P&lace — Beginning an Education — On the Sands at Ramsgate — In Royal Society— Opin- ions from the Chroniclers of the Day— Anecdotes of Childhood— Nearlng the Throne 41 CHAPTER II. THE LIFE OF A YOUNO PRINCESS. Princess Victoria Learns That She is Heiress to the Throne — ^Her First Reception-^ She Attends the Theater— Not Present at the Coronation of William IV.— Her Amusements — ^Journeys with Her Mother — ^Enthusiastically Received by the People — ^A Narrow Escape From Death — Her Coniirmation — ^The Duke of Coburg and His Sons, Ernest and Albert, Visit Kensington Palace— The lU-Feeling Between the King and the Princess' Mother— She Attains her Majority— • be Nation Celebrates the Event— Death of King William IV 67 CHAPTER III. THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. Victoria is Informed That She is Queen — ^How She Received the Tidings— Her First Council — Her Address to the Dignitaries— Condition of the Empire at the Time of Her Accession — ^Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister — ^The Queen Removes to Buckingham Palace— Amelioration of the Criminal Laws — ^Daily Life of Her Majesty — Insurrection in the Two Canadas — ^Reform of the Canadian Constitu- tion—The Coronation— War in China— Difficulties of the Young Sovereign 88 CHAPTER IV. THE QUEEN A BRIDE. Prince Albert's Birthplace— ^Hls Early Life— His Engaging Qualities— Princess Vic- toria's Attachment for Him— ^The Queen Proposes Marriage to Him — His Visits 9 / \ 10 CONTENTS. to England — ^The Queen Informs the C!onnciI of Her Intended Marriage — Parlia- ment Votes the Prince an Annuity of £30,000 — ^The Wedding Ceremony at the Chapel Royal St. James— A Nation Rejoices 122 CHAPTEB V. THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. ^ The Postal System of the United Kingdom-*Need of Improvements— Sir Rowland Hill and the Penny Post— Opposition to His Plans— Measures for the Protection of Child Chimney Sweeps— Attempt of Edward Oxford to Shoot the Queen — The Prince Consort Attains His Majority — Birth of the Princess Royal — ^Acci- dent to Prince Albert— Sir Robert Peel Becomes Prime Minister— Birth and Christening of the Prince of Wales 153 CHAPTER VI. FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. Terrible News from Afghanistan— A Great Tragedy— Attemps of Francis and Bean to Shoot Her Majesty— The Queen's First Visit to Scotland— Birth of the Princess Alice— Tom Thumb a Visitor at Windsor Castle— The Emperor of Russia Visits the Court — Famine in Ireland — Chartist Meetings — ^London in Terror— Trials of Irish Agitators — Death of Lord Melbourne— The Queen Visito Ireland 176 CHAPTER VII. THE FIRST GREAT WORLD'S EXPOSITION. Work of the Prince Consort— He Plans a Great World's Fair— Appointment of a Royal Commission — Hyde Park Chosen for the Site — Strong Opposition Encoun- tered— ^Building of the Beautiful Crystal Palace — Opening of the Exhibition — The Queen's Account of the Ceremony — Great Multitudes Present — Close of the Exhibition— Death of the Duke of Wellington— Fire in Windsor Castle— Birth of Another Son to the Queen 201 CHAPTER VIII. CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. War Between Russia and Turkey— England and France Protest at the Plans of the Czar — ^Popular Feeling Against the Prince Consort— ^The Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava— Mismanagement in the Crimea— The Emperor and 'Empress of the French Visit England— End of the War in the East— Treaty of Peace— Indian Mutinies— Marriage of the Princess Royal — Death of Her Majesty's Mother ; 219 Heb Majesty the Queek— 1853 (From Painting at Windsor Castle.) CONTENTS, ' 13 CHAPTER IX. THB QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. ninesB of the Prince Consort— €lvil War in the United States— The ^t^nt Affair^ and the Complications which Grew Out of It — How the Queen and the Prince Consort Averted Probable War—- A Widowed Queen — ^Funeral of the Prince Con- sort — ^Eastern Tour of the Prince of Wales — ^The International Bzhibition — Marriage of the Prince of Wales— The Queen Visits Netley Hospital — ^She Unveils a Statue of the Prince Consort — ^Visit to Germany — She Opens the Ses- . Bion of Her Seventh Parliament— War in Germany ^ . . . . 232 CHAPTER X. YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. Extension of the Elective Franchise — ^Federation of Canada — Fenian Troubles in Ireland — ^Hr. Gladstone's Irish Church Resolutions — The Queen Visits Switzer- land— War Between France and Germany — ^Marriage of the Princess Louise to the Marquis of Lome — Illness of the Prince of Wales — Fatal Accident to a Grandson of the Queen — ^The Prince of Wales Visits India 256 CHAPTER XL QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. Queen Victoria Becomes the Empress of India — Impressive Ceremonies at Delhi — The Queen's Interest in Her Indian Empire — ^The Marquis of Lome Appointed Govemor General of Canada — Death of President Garfield — ^Another Attempt on the Life of the Queen — Death of the Duke of Albany — Marriage of the Prin- cess Beatrice — The Colonial and Indian Exhibition— The Queen Visits Liverpool 276 CHAPTER XII. VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. Fifty Years on the Throne— A People's Love and Loyalty— The Cavalcade Passes Through the Streets of London — Envoys of Nations in the Parade — Thanks- giving Services in Westminster Abbey— The Night Illumination — The Children's Festival — Jubilee Honors — Pardons to Military Deserters — ^Women's Jubilee Offering Fund — Review of the Troops at Aldershot — ^Naval Review at Spithead — ^Jubilee Gift to the Pope 299 14 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIIL THE DIAMOND JUBILBB-4IXTT YEARS A QDEEN. TbankBgiYinga of a Nation — ^The Royal Family at St Oeorgo's Chapel — Sorrlcea In the Chttrches of all Creeds— The Queen Leaves Windsor for the Jubilee Cere- monies— ^Her Reception at Paddlngton — ^Proceedings In Parliament — ^The Pro- cesslon^^Beautlful Decorations Along the Route—The Colonial Troops— Members of the Royal Families In the Parade— At St Paul's Cathedral— The Night Illuminations— Dinners to the Poor— The Naval Review at Splthead..,. 821 CHAPTER XIV. AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. War with the Boers— Dr. Jameson^s Raid— Trouble with the Ashantls— Prince Henry of Battenberg Volunteers His Services— He Is Taken 111 In Africa— His Death — The Queen's Orief — ^The Remains Brought to England — Imposing Funeral Ceremonies — Marriage of the Princess Maud — The Queen Attains the Longest Reign of English Sovereigns 839 CHAPTER XV. LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REION. Troubles in India— Victories in the Soudan— The Battle at Omdurman— The Spanish-American War— The Asiatic Problem— Affairs In South Africa— The Queen's Eightieth Birthday— The Boers Declare War— Progress of Hostilities — ^The Relief of Ladysmith — President Kruger Leaves the Transvaal — The Queen's Visit to Ireland — ^The Close of Victoria's Reign 354 CHAPTER XVI. THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. News of the Queen's Illness Startles the Civilized World— The Royal Family Called to Osborne House — ^Arrival of the Em'peror of Germany — ^Death of the Queen — Eulogies of the Press — Panegyrics of the Public — President McKlnley Cables Condolences to the King— Deep Grief in Canada— Speeches in Parliament — Loyalty Pledged the King— Lord Salisbury's Tribute 371 CONTENTS. 16 I CHAPTEB XVII. THB IMPRBSSIVB FUNERAL CEREMONIES. The Journey from Cowes to Portsmouth — Royalty follows the Bier — Order of the Prooeesion — ^Arriyal of the Train at Victoria Station — The Services at Windsor — Foreign Diplomats in Attendance — Exercises in all Parts of the World — ^Mrs. Garfield's Tribute— The Final Ceremonies— Eulogies From Great Men of all Lands , .... 401 CHAPTER XVIII. THE PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. CharacteriBtic9 of the Queen — Her Love for Animals — ^Her Domestic Habits — ^Fond- ness for Outdoor Life — She Possessed a Remarkable Memory — Her Homes — Royalty Learns Gardening — ^England's Royal Household — ^Much of the Queen's Time Spent in Reading— Her Favorite Books— Wealth of the Queen— Her Many Descendants ,448 CHAPTER XIX, A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. Incidents at Court— Mr. Story's Reminiscences— Amusements of the Royal Children — ^Trained to be Musicians— The Queen's Double— The Dawn of a Great Future — ^A Child Reproves the Queen — Carlyle's Brusque Manners — ^The Shah of Persia — ^"Expediency not in the Dictionary" — ^A Royal Punster — ^An Acrobatic Inter- lude— The Queen and the Empress Eugenie 470 CHAPTER XX. EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR. Sketch of the Career of the New King— Different Estimates of His Character— His Education — ^Vislt to Canada and the United States — ^Travels on the Continent and in the Holy Land — His Marriage — Grand Master of the Free Biasons— The Ruler of Enislish Society — His Succession to the Throne — ^Ancient Ceremonies Repeated — ^Parliament Renews Allegiance— London Given a Glimpse of Medieval Times-*Gorgeous Processions 485 A A LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAOB Fboktispibcb . 11 Thb EiKd of a Olobious Bbigk . • V QUBBK YlGTOBIA AMD FAMILY QUBBK YlOTOBIA— 1858 • • • • ViCTOBIA ALBXANDBINA .... OSBOBKE HOUBB, WhBBB QiJEEK YlOTOBIA DiED QUBBK ViCTOBIA — TAKING THB OaTH QUEBK YlCTOBIA — 1870 . • • . Pbincb Albbbt— Husbakd of Queen Victobia Edwabd VIL, Kino and Empebob Thb Late Queen Victobia and Edwabd VII. Queen Victobia in Oobonation Bobes Alexandba, Queen and Empbess . Queen Victobia — 1839 . ... Queen Victobia — In 60th Yeab of Heb Beign • . . . Gboup Showing Heb Majesty the Queen, Pbincb Consobt and foub Ohildbbn in Windsob Fobest • . . . • Foub Oenbbations of English Boyal Family Victobia in Wedding Dbess Queen's Favobitb Dog, Shabp . Queen Victobia in Heb Oabden Chaise . QuBBN Victobia ..... The Queen Visiting Highland Tenants St. Geobgb's Chapbl .... Sabcophagus of Albebt thb Pbincb Consobt Monuments of Beaconsfield and Malcolm . Eagbb fob News op ihb Bbitish-Boeb Wab Pbincess Victobia in 1830 — Pbom a Painting Made Fbom Life LoBD Bobebts ........ The Mabquis of Salisbuby, Pbemieb of England Sib John A. Macdonald .... Alfbbd Tennyson Victobia's Wedding Pbocession .... Kensington Palace, London— Bibth place op Queen Victoria Balmobal Castle, Scotland .... Albebt Memobial — Mabble Oboup • • • • 17 12 21 30 49 60 51 52 61 62 79 80 89 90 91 91 92 101 102 119 120 129 130 131 132 141 142 159 160 160 169 18 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Royal Mausoleum ..... CoBOKATiOK Chair, Wbstmiksteb Abbey Quebn's Pbivatb €hapel • . . . Gband Vestibule, Wikdsob Castle Qbrkak EmpbboBi William II., and Family Dukb of York ' . David Livingstone ..... Rev. Cha8. H. Spuboeon Windsor Castle— Main Gate Windsor Castle — Queen's Sitting Room St. James' Palace ..... Albert Memorial, London Excelsior Hotel, Regina, Nice House of Parliament and Westminster Abbey Windsor Castle— Favorite Home op Queen Victoria in England Throne Room, Windsor Castle Windsor Castle — Henry VIII. Gate One of the Corridors at Windsor Castle . BuceiWham Palace .... Marlborough House .... Lord Mayor Green of London Where Lies Oliver Goldsmith Tower of London . . . . • Rt. Hon. William Ewart Gladstone . Wellington . . Benjamin Disraeli .... Daniel O'Connell ..... St. Paul's Church .... Empress Frederick ..... Robert Peel ..... House of Lords ..... Windsor Castle, Side View Christ Church College, Oxford , . . * . Queen Victoria at Various Ages, Plate I. . Queen Victoria at Various Ages, Plate II. Last Moments of Queen Victoria, Scene at Osborne House Queen Victoria Lying in State at Osborne House Tenants of Osborne Paying Tribute to the Dead Queen Arrival of the Crown P^nce— Greeting the Kaiser . Voyage of the "Alberta" Bearing all That was Mortal of the Late Queen from Cowes to Portsmouth 169 170 171 17» 181 182 199 200 209 210 211 212 221 222 239 240 249 250 261 252 261 279 280 289 290 291 292 301 802 819 320 387 838 355 356 373 374 391 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 19 THE % Porch of Fboh Osborne to Wikdsor— The Coffin Leavino Osborne House . . . . n . . . 992 Funeral op Queen Victoria Passing Through Hyde Park . 409 MEMobiAL Service in St. George's Chapel, Windsor . . 410 Royal I^ourners at Funeral Services in St. George's Chapel . 427 The Funeral Procession Leaving Windsor for Froqmore . . 428 King Edward VIL's First Act op Government . . . 445 THE LIVING DESCENDANTS OF QUEEN VICTORIA. Plate I 1 KiNQ Eowasd VIL 2 Emprxss Fbbdbriok. 8 Pbihobbb Ohbxstian or ScBLaswio-Hoi/- 4 DnoHxsa of Abotlu (K. PUKa OF COHHAnGHT. 0 Princess HsmiT of Battsnbbro. 7 GsBMAir Emfbbob. 8 DuKB of York* 9 PBincB Hbnbt of Pbussia. 10 PbIITOS AlBBBT of SORI^SSWia-QOLBTUIi; 11 Grahd Dukb of Hsssb. 18 pRiNGS Arthur of OomffAUQHT. 446 13 vDuKB OF Sazr-Coburo-Gotra. 14 PRINCB AZiBZAHDBR OF BATTRirBBRQ. 15 PrINOB IfAURlOB OF BATTBKBBRQ. 15 PRIBOB LBOPOLD of BATTENBBRO. 17 DnOHBSS OF FiFB. 18 PRIKCB88 Victoria of Wai«bs. 19 Pribgbbs Charlbs of Denmark* 80 PRINCBSS ARIBBRT OF AnHAIA. 21 Princbss Victoria of BcHiiBswio-HOL- STBIN. 28 Princess Aucb of Albany. 88 Princess Louis of Battbnbbro. 84 Princbss Hbnrt of Prussia. Plate II 1 Crown Princess of Boumania. 8 Grand Duchess of Hbssb. 3 Hbrbditabt Princess of Hohenlorb-Lan genburg. 4 Princess Beatrice OF SAXB-Ck>BURG-GoTHA. 5 Princess BiARQARET OF OoNNAUQHT. t PRINOBSS Patricia OF OoNNAUGHT. 7 German Crown pRiNCB. 8 Prince Eitbi. Fritz of Prussia. 8 Prince Oscar OF Prussia. 10 Prince Edward of York. 11 Prince Gborob OF York. 18 Prince Hbnrt OF York. • • • • . 463 18 Prince Carol of Boumania. 14 Princb Alexander of Greece. / 15 Prince Gottfried of Hobenlohb-Langen* bubo. 16 Prince Frbdbrick William of Hesse. 17 Prince Maximilian of Hesse. 18 Prince Wolfgang Maurice OF Hesse. 19 Prince Philip OF Hesse. 80 Princess Hbnrt XXX., OF Bbuss. 21 Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia. 28 Princbss Victoria OF York. S3 Laot Albzandra Dunv 84 Ladt Maud Duff. PLATB III ... . 1 Grand Duchess Sebob of Bubsia. 8 9 Empress of BussiA. 9 8 Bbrbditart Princess Charlotte OF Saxb- lo Mbiningbn. U 4 Duchess OF Sparta. 18 5 Pbihcbss Frederick Charlbs of Hbssb. 13 8 Princrss AdolphusofSchaumbubg-Lippb. 14 f Princess Victoria Bugbnib of Batten* 464 Grand Duchess Olqa of Bubsla. Grand Duchess Tatiana of Bussia. Grand Duchess Marie of Bussia. Princess Euzabbth of Hbssb. Princess Elizabbth of Boumania. Princbss Marie of Boumania. Princbss Helena of Gbbbob. Victoria Alexanbrina late queen of great britain and ireland and empress OP INDIA. Victoria, the sixth ruler of the House of Hanover and only child of Edward, Duke of Kent, succeeded her uncle, William IV, when; eighteen years of age. For over sixty-three years she enjoyed a reign unexampled In the history of England and is held in reverence by millions of subjects and people all over the world. INTRODUCTION. WHEN the great bell of St. PauPs proclaimed to London the passing of Queen Victoria, and later when the sad news was transmitted over continents and under seas to all quarters of the globe, there was only one feeling in all hearts — ^that of love and admiration and tenderest regret and sorrow for one whose life and name stood not alone for the sceptered majesty of a great kingdom and empire, but also for one of the noblest and purest ideals of womanhood. Not only in Great Britain and its de- pendencies, but throughout the civilized world, the news was received with a keen sense of the greatness with which she had played her part both as woman lind as queen. It was the especial merit of the Queen so to fill the functions of rulership as to exercise a positive influence. By precept and. example, by her eminent qualities of good sense and kindliness, by her strength of character and her love of peace, she did much to make the nation great and to secure the advancement of the world at large. . Kindred in race and blood, speaking the same tongue and claiming part of the same glorious heritage of ancient renown, America stood side by side with Britannia at Victorians bier. For the Queen who lay dead at Osborne ruled with such a gentle and gracious sway as to extend her dominion beyond the borders of her great empire and exact the tribute of respect, admiration and love from all. Americans have warm hearts, and recognize their friends, whoever they may be. And in Queen Victoria, throughout her long life, this country always had a firm friend. In the dark days of civil strife and war, when some of her statesmen faltered and declared the Union was about to be dissolved. Queen Victoria was steadfast and never ceased to uphold the side and cause she believed to be for the right and whose triumph would mean most for advancing humanity. It is. a matter of history that but for her influence England probably would have gone to war with the United States over the Slidell and Mason affair, and in the early days of the Spanish- American trouble it is now known that Queen Victoria 93 84 INTRODUCTION. also expressed to the President of the United States her belief in the righteousness of America's cause and assured him of England's friend- ship and sympathy. In Europe, also, her name was a bulwark of peace. Connected by ties of relationship with most of the crowned heads of Europe, all European rulers were ready to strain a point, if need be, to keep on terms of amity with the empire over which Victoria ruled. Like Alexander III. of Russia, **the peacemaker of Europe," Queen Vic- toria's counsel and influence always were cast on the side of peace. That events which were too strong for her to overrule led to the South African war and its many disasters, was the greatest sorrow of the closing days of her life. This tragic finale to her reign adds a pathos to her death, which was probably hastened by worry and sorrow over the South African tragedy and events she felt herself powerless to control. And it is significant of the place Victoria held in the world's heart that no one, not even the embattled Boers of South Africa, held her responsible for the mistakes which precipitated England's most disastrous war of the century. It is a noteworthy fact that while the changing conditions since she was crowned in 1837 have tended to reduce greatly the specific i)owers of sovereignty, she accepted the natural trend of events with equa^ nimlty, steadily gaining in esteem and affection as the years passed. Never was she more sincerely revered and loved than during the decade just closed; never was the quiet force of her influence more gen- erally recognized. The whole period embraced in the Victorian era has been the period of Great Britain's greatest imperial development. The statesmen who were her advisers when she came to the throne, a girl of eighteen, seem now to have belonged to an entirely different epoch, so great has been the change in the political world and in the currents and tendencies of intellectual life. In all this process of growth Victoria exercised a wholesome, if passive, influence. She met new burdens and honors with dignity; she kept before the British public high ideals of principle and conduct; and if the political growth and material prosperity of England are not directly traceable to her, her essential goodness and her well-poised character have at least done much to maintain the sentiments of confidence and patriotism which tend most to make for a nation's happiness. From the very beginning of the Queen's reign her desires and her 'INTRODUCTION. 86 views made themselves felt It is even credited in largfe degree to her that the Ministry of Lord Melbourne, to which she was friendly, re- mained in power for four years after her accession bpfbre succumbing to a hostile majority in the House of Commons. Important legislation of great consequence to the national policies and the liberties of the people filled the early years of Victoria's reign, and the kingdom was long disturbed by domestic puzzles. Reforms of the poor laws, the es- tablishment of the policy of free trade with the abolishment of the corn laws, educational and religious controversy over the Church in Ireland and Scotland, the potato famine in Ireland and the widespread distress resulting, reforms in the electoral laws, extension of the fran- chise, destruction of the **pocket boroughs,^^ abolishment of the pur- chase of commissions in the army, Irish land legislation and its asso- ciated problems, labor acts in reference to the unions and the removal of disabilities of various sorts from Roman Catholics and Jews — ^these have been among the noteworthy questions in the domestic affairs of Oreat Britain seeking solution during the nation's longest reign. The outlook in domestic affairs before King Edward VII. is by no means as puzzling as that which faced his mother at the beginning of her reign. The relations of man to man and man to government in Great Britain have been thrashed out in the last sixty years with as- tonishing fullness. The country has its liberties, the people have the ballot, the government is responsible and responsive to the popular will, and many a lesson has been learned in the sixty years. In international affairs, too, it is a very different world from that which Victoria entered as a monarch. Invention and discovery have brought countries into closer knowledge of each other, knowledge has solved puzzles and allayed antagonisms. The Queen was young in the days of revolution, the days of Eossuth, Mazzini, Garibaldi, and the struggles of France. In her time Europe has changed much and the relations of the nations have changed more. The great powers have become greater, in Europe and in their foreign possessions, and the Smaller ones are vanishing factors. International problems to be faced may be greater to-day than they were when the Queen came to the throne, but they surely are much more clearly defined and by con- solidation are reduced in number from what they were then. Victoria was a powerful influence in retaining for England the loyalty of the British colonies. She saw Canada and Australia 26 INTRODUCTION. complete scheiheB of federation which make them nations in all bat name. She saw India become her empire from the doubtful status of company government out of which the great country has issued. She saw South Africa rise to wealth and strength, only to furnish the war which saddened her life in its last year. To what extent the new mouMch and his successors may be able to inspire such loyalty as the colonists felt for the Queen is one of the most important Questions which imperial Great Britain may need to answer. Victoria renewed the vitality and replenished the stock of the royal family, so that the empire need no longer fear a failure in the succes- sion. When she came to the throne the royal line was virtually at an end. Mother of nine children, her descendants have multiplied into ' the most numerous of all royal families of to-day. More than that, by intermarriage Victoria has been mother, mother-in-law or grand- mother to royalty in virtually the whole of Protestant EJurope, thus making for peaceful relations and unity of action in many times of crisis. Queen Victoria rehabilitated royalty in the mind of the English people. A few years ago there were those who prophesied that she would be the last British monarch, so definite were the republican tendencies of the country and so uncertain were the people as to what sort of a king Albert Edward of Wales would make. But her life as woman and queen conquered the hearts of her people, and to-day no voice is heard to suggest that the house of Ouelph is nearing the end of its reign. The change of rulers comes at a time when the empire is beset with dangers and difficulties. After an era which is destined to be as dis- tinctive in British history as the era of Elizabeth, it was Victorians- fate to see the British empire embarrassed by war and apparently los- ing its primacy among the nations of the earth. Whether it has not actually passed the climax of its greatness and is now on the point of a retrograde movement is a question yet to be determined. The cir- cumstances under which Albert Edward has assumed the sovereign power, as King Edward VII., are therefore peculiarly trying, but thoughtful observers will be slow to conclude that as king he will fail to satisfy the needs and expectations of the British people. The oldest son of the great Queen has an enormous personal popularity both in England and among Englishmen who have migrated to British depen- INTRODUCTION. , 27 dencies and he is endowed with tact to a remarkable degree. How- ever England may have looked npon its heir-apparent twenty years age, in the recent years during which he has been called npon to per- form most of the public and ceremonial functions of the monarch, act- ing as* Victoria's representative, he has shown dignity and discretion. His reign in all probability will be comparatively brief, but there is good reason to believe that he will be guided by safe and sober con- servatism and will be a highly popular monarch. If the present threat- ened change in Great Britain's political and commercial status is going to make new plans and policies necessary, moreover, he will have an advantage in the fact that he is not too old to become recon- ciled to changes or to help in putting them into effect At the outset of his reign he will find on every hand impressive illustrations of the power and usefulness of the British sovereign who rules as Victoria ruled — with honesty of purpose, largeness of heart and an unwavering love of her subjects. As to her epitaph, that is characteristic and was written by her- self against the time, now at hand, wiien she should be laid in the marble sarcophagus at Frogmore beside that of Prince Albert: **Victoria-Albert, Here at last I shall Best with thee; With thee in Christ Shall rise again." «• '• <%' Queen Victoria Taking Oath (From a Painting made from Life.) Queen Victoria, 1870 THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE AND ILLUSTRIOUS REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. CHAPTER I. IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. ne Fteflier and Hothar of YIetorift— Birfh of the Prinoess— A Weleome ChiM-StorlM off Balijhood— De«f]i of the Jhke of Kent-Life in Kenslngtoii Fftlaee— Beginning an Ed- Mitton— On tiie Sands at Bamsgate— In Boyal Soeiety— Opinions firom liie Clironiclers of liie Baj— Ineodotes^of Cliildliood— Nearing tlie Throne. IT IS the life history of a queenly woman and a womanly queen which is recorded here. Had Victoria been less worthy as a woman she could not have been so great as a Queen. Every event in her younger days, therefore, which throws light upon her char- acter, her surroundings and her training is worth recording here in order that the source of her goodness and her greatness may be traced. Let us, therefore, see into what manner of life the future Sovereign of the British Empire was born. The laws of heredity and of environment make no distinction between King and peasant; and it is to the parent- age and early training of the Queen that we must look to see how her character, so distinguished by womanly virtues and domestic graces, has been molded. We find that her father, Eklward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of Qecfrge III., was deservedly known sb the "Popular Duke.'* He was a tall, stately man of soldierly bearing, characterized by courteous and engaging manners, and was generous to a fault. He was connected with no less than sixty-flve charitable organizations at the time of his death. Fit complement to the soldier-Duke was the Queen's mother, who, without being a beauty, was a charming and attractive woman, elegant 42 IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. in figure, with fine brown eyes and luxuriant brown hair, f She was warmly affectionate^ free and gracious in her manner, but withal a duchess of duchesses to her finger-tips, as after events showed. Above everything else, she was distinguished for motherly devotion and the domestic virtues. It was these characteristics which caused the Duke of Kent to fall in love with her. He was entrusted in 1818, by Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, afterward King of Belgium, then in retire- ment at Claremont mourning his young wife, the beloved Princess Charlotte, with letters to his sister, the Princess of Leiningen, Victoria Mary Louisa, who was a young widow living a retired life in her castle at Amorbach, Bavaria, superintending the education of her two chil- dren. The Duke of Kent, a bachelor of fifty, was entirely charmed by the picture of domestic felicity which he found when he arrived at Castle Amorbach, and in due time became the affianced husband of the widowed Princess. They were married at Coburg on the 29th of May, 1818, according to the rites of the Lutheran Church, and remarried in England shortly afterwards at a private ceremony at Kew Palace, after which they returned to Bavaria. The prospect of the birth of a child, however, made the Duke of Kent anxious to bring his wife to England, so that his coming heir might be "Briton-born.'^ He thought at first of taking a house in Lanarkshire, in which case the Queen would have been bom a Scotchwoman; but he finally decided on a suite of rooms at Kensing- ton Palace. Brave indeed was the Duchess of Kent to quit her native land and her kindred to undertake a tedious journey by land and sea within a short time of her confinement. So solicitous was the Duke for her safety that throughout the whole of the journey by land he suffered no one to drive her but himself. The Duchess reached Kensington Pal- ace in safety, and at four o'clock on the morning of the 24th of May, 1819, a pretty little Princess was bom, who, according to Baron Stock- mar, was as "plump as a partridge.^' The birth took place at about four a, m., and it was immediately notified to the Ministers and Privy Councillors, who had assembled in an adjoining room, and amongst whom were the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Wellington, the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, Lord Lansdowne, the Bishop of London, and George Canning. Although several lives stood between the infant Princess and the throne, her father had a prophetic instinct that she was destined to be IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. 48 Qneen of England. "Take care of her/' he would say; "she may yet be Queen of England.'^ No disappointment was ever expressed that the child was a girl. The grief which had filled the country when the Prin- , cess Charlotte died showed that the people were eager for a Queen, a sentiment referred to by the Dowager Duchess of Coburg when writing congratulations to her daughter, the Duchess of Kent. "Again a Char- lotte," she writes^ "destined perhaps to play a great part one day, if a brother is not bom to take it out of her hands. The English like Queens, and the niece of the ever-lamented, beloved Princess Charlotte will be most dear to them.'^ It was Grandmamma of Coburg who named the new-comer the blossom of May. "How pretty the little May- flower will be," she writes, **when I see it in a year's time! Sieb(rtd [the nurse] cannot sufficiently describe what a dear little love it is." Siebold was a lady doctor from Berlin, popularly known as "Dr. Chal*- lotte," who attended the Duchess of Kent at her confinement, she hav- ing decliued the services of the male physicians in attendance at the Palace. Three months later Dr. Charlotte returned to Germany to officiate at the birth of a little Prince, one day to be the husband of his pretty cousin the "Mayflower," who was merrily crowing in the old Palace of Kensington. When the children were in their cradles, that charming and vivacious old lady. Grandmamma of Coburg, with match- making propensity, wrote of little Prince Albert, "What a charming pendant he would be to the pretty cousin!" Unfortunately she was not spared to see the day when her fondest wish was reali;sed by the mar- riage of her grandson with her granddaughter, the "Mayflower," who had blossomed into a sweet young Queen. Nothing could have been more propitious than the birth of the Qneen. She was a thrice- welcome child, bom of a happy union between parents distinguished for goodness and piety, and from the hour of her ' birth she basked in the sunshine of love. Bhe came when the world of nature was tfesh and jubilant — ^the sweet spring-time, when birds were singing, trees budding, and the air fragrant with the odor of flowers. Small wonder that she was a lovely baby. She had flaxen hair, blue eyes, a fair skin, and was the picture of health — chubby, rosy, beauti- fully formed, and of a happy, lively disposition. The Duchess of Kent nursed her at her own breast, and in the absence of the Princess' spe- cial nurse, Mrs. Brock, dressed and undressed the little one herself. Robert Owen, the Socialist, is said to have been the first man who held U IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. the Princess in his arms^ he having called to see the Dnke'of Kent on business shortly after her arrival. The christening of the infant Princess took place' in the Grand Saloon of Kensington Palace, the gold font from the Tower being brought for the occasion. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London o£Sciated. The sponsors were the Prince Regent in person, the Emperor Alexander of Russia, represented by the Duke of York, the Queen-Dowager of Wurtemberg, represented by the Princess Augusta, and the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, represented by the Dowager Duchess of GHoucester. The Duke of Kent was anxious that his "little Queen" should be named Elizabeth, but the Prince Regent gave the name Alexandrina, after the Emperor of Russia, upon which the Duke asked that another name might be associated with it; then the Prince Regent, who according to Greville was annoyed that the infant was not to be named Georgiana, after himself, said, "Give her her mother's name also." Accordingly the Princess was named Alex- andrina Victoria* For a while she was called Princess Alexandrina or ' "little Drina;" but gradually her mother's name prevailed, and she was known only as the Princess Victoria* This choice was confirmed by the Queen herself when she signed her first State document simply Vic- toria* Shortly after the christening the Duchess of Kent was publicly "churched" at St. Mary Abbott's^ Kensington, the Duke himself con- ducting her with much ceremony to the communion table. The first eight months of the Queen's life were passed at Kensington Palace, where glimpses of her, laughing and crowing at her nursery window, were often caught by strollers through the Gardens. The Duke was always pleased to have her shown to the people, and when she was only four months old took her in the cairiage with him to a review on Hounslow Heath. The Prince Regent, annoyed at the atten- tion which she created, sharply remonstrated, saying, "That infant is too young to be brought into public." At three months old the Princess was vaccinated, and was the first royal baby to be inoculated after the method of Jenner. In order to escape the rigor of the winter, the Duke and Duchess removed, at the end of the year, with their darling child, into Devon- shire, staying at Woolbrook Glen, Sidinouth, a lovely retreat lying back from the sea, and surrounded by picturesque grounds. There is no more charming glimpse of this period of the Queen's m THE Days of infancy. ' 45 infancy than is recorded by Mrs. Marshall in her "Recollections of Althea AUingham.'' The AUinghams were living at Sidmonth at the time of the royal visits and we get this graphic picture of the local interest it elicited. "I have just heard a piece of news," Oliffe said. "The Duke of Kent has taken the ^Glen' at the farther end of the village, and the servants are expected to-morrow to put the place in order for the Duke and Duchess of Kent and the little Princess Victoria." Sidmouth was elated at the prospect of receiving the royal party, and Mrs. Ailing- ham's little daughters were full of anxiety to see the baby Princess. Their expectations were soon realized, and they frequently saw lier being taken out for her daily airing. Mra AUingham thus describes her: "She was a very fair and lovely baby, and there was^ even in her infant days, a charm about her which has never left our gracious Queen. The clear, frank glance of her large blue eyes, and the sweet but firm expression of her mouth, were really remarkable, even when a baby of eight months old." One bright January morning the AUinghams were returning from an excursion, when they met the Duke and Duchess of Kent, 'linked arm in arm," the nurse carrying the little Princess, who looked lovely in a white swansdown hood and pelisse, and was holding out her hand to her father. He took her in his arms sb the party drew up in line, refi9>ectfully waiting, uncovered and curtseying. "Stella exclaimed: What a beautiful baby!' '^he Duchess hearing, smiled and said, H^ould you like to kiss the baby?* "Stella colored with delight, and looked at me [Mrs. AUingham] for permission. "He Duke kindly held the little Princess down towards Stella, and said: " *I am glad my little May blossom finds favor in your eyes.' "Then a shout was heard from the donkey where Stephen sat. " *Me, too, please, Duke.' "Instead of being in the least shocked with my boy's freedom, the Duke laughed, saying: " OMsmount, then.' "Stephen scrambled down, and coming up received the longed-for kiflSw 46 ' IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. " ^Father calls Stella and Benvenuta his May blossomsy' Stephen volunteered. " 'And yon may be proud of them/ the Duke said, as he gave the Princess back into her nurse's arms; and the Duchess, with repeated bows and smiles, passed on." The same month, January, 1820, the baby Princess had a narrow escape from death. A youth, who had obtained a gun, fired at some small birds so near to the residence of their Royal Highnesses that the charge broke the nursery windows and some of the shot passed quite close to the head of the infant Princess, then in the arms of her nurse. The offender was brought before the Duke, but, owing to the kindliness of disposition of His Royal Highness, he escaped with a reprimand on promising not to pursue his pleasures so recklessly. There seemed little probability that the baby Princess would ever become Queen of England. The Duke of Kent, her father, was but the .fourth son of George III., but a series of unexpected events soon brought his daughter nearer the throne. Upon the death of the deeply- lamepted Princess Charlotte, only child of George IV., the Duke of York, his next younger brother, had become heir presumptive to the crown. His Royal Highness had no children, however, so the Duke of Clarence, third son of George III., came next in succession. He had married, and his wife, the Princess Adelaide, Bore him a daughter, who, if she had lived, would in the natural order of things have become Queen. But this child died in infancy, leaving the Princess Victoria the only scion of the next generation of the royal stock. The stay at Sidmouth was destined to have a sad and fatal termina- tion. The Duke of Kent was seized with a severe indisposition, occa- sioned by delaying to change his wet boots after a walk through the snow. Affection for his child had drawn him to the nursery imme- diately on reaching home. To a severe chill succeeded inflammation of the chest, with high fever, which resulted fatally. The Duke was per- haps more highly esteemed than any other son of George III. His public conduct was judicious and self-sacrificing. In the army he initiated many healthful reforms; after he ceased from active service in It, he interested himself in humanitarian movements of all kinds, especially devoting himself to the cause of the widow and the orphan. The result was, that he became known as the "Popular Duke," and no royal personage ever better deserved the title. He was of regular and IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. 47 temperate habits, kind to all, and the firm friend of those who put their tnist in him. His generosity was such that it frequently outran discre- tion, causing embarrassment to himself; but the poor had the benefit of it. The Duke was officially connected with sixty-two societies, every one of which was devoted to some noble religious or Charitable object. The personal virtues of th^ Duke, the love he bore his country, and the untiring exertions he displayed in the cause of philanthropy and reli- gion, justly gave him a high place in the affections of his fellow- countrymen. It was auspicious that the Queen should have had such a father, for many of his traits, with the gentleness and uprightness which distinguished the mother, descended in large measure upon the chnd- Two days after the death of the Duke, the Duchess of Kent, accom- panied by her babe and her brother. Prince Leopold, set out for Lon- don. Where all was sad and mournful there was one gleam of sun- shine; for the infant, ^'being held up at the carriage window to bid the assembled population of Sidmouth farewell, sported and laughed joy- ously, and patted the glasses with her pretty dimpled .hands, in happy unconsciousness of her melancholy bereavement." The likeness of the Duke of York to her lost father deceived the little Princess Victoria, and when the former came on his visit of condolence, and also subse- quently, she stretched out her hands to him in the belief that he was her father. The Duke was deeply touched by the appeal, and clasping the child to his bosom, he promised to be indeed a father to her. Many addresses of condolence were received by the Duchess, and as she gen- erally received them with her infant in her arms, there was frequently a painful contrast witnessed between the tear-stained face of the mother and the happy countenance, wreathed with smiles^ of the daughter. In his ^Reminiscences" Prince Leopold says: "The Duchess, who had lost a most amiable and devoted husband, was in a state of the greatest distress. The poor Duke had left his family deprived of all means of subsistence. The journey to Kensington was very painful, and the weather very severe." From this time forward we find Prince Leopold acting as a father and guardian to his little niece, Victoria. It was he who generously supplemented the jointure of £6,000 which the Duchess of Kent received from the country, and enabled her to rear our future Queen in a manner befitting her position. By her 48 IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. second marriage the Duchess liad sacrificed her dowrji and she con* scientiously yielded the Duke of Kent's estate to his creditors^ so that all that remained to her wa« her jointtire. On January 29, the same day on which the Duchess and her infant returned to Kensington, George III. died, and was succeeded by the Prince Begent. This event, coupled with her father's death, placed the Princess two lives nearer to the throne. The Duchess, doubtless actuated by these circumstances, determined to rear her child in the land over which she might eventually rule, and gave up her own nat- "qral desire to return to Bavaria. Speaking of herself and infant at this time, she says: ^^We stood alone — ^almost friendless and alone in this country; I could not even speak the language of it. I did not hesitate how to act; I gave up my home, my kindred, my duties [the regency of Leiningen] to devote myself to that duty which was to be the whole object of my future life." Thus nobly did the Duchess of Kent start u^ion her important work — no light task — the training of a queen. Prom that day forward she lived at Kensington in stately seclusion, watching over the young "Hope of England," who was never allowed to be an hour out of her sight. From the day of her father's death until she ascended the throne, the Queen had never passed a night outside her mother's bed- chamber. She had never been seen in public or even heard of except in conjunction with her mother. Poor and almost friendless, for she was ill regarded by her royal brothers-in-law, the widowed Duchess of Kent and her tiny baby suf- ' fered much until Prince Leopold, brother of the Duchess and little Victoria's uncle, assumed a voluntary guardianship over them both. The child's paternal uncles, George IV. and William IV., were never complaisant to the unhappy Duchess. King George often threatened to take the little Princess from her mother, and the succesdon of Clar- ence who became the fourth King William did not mend their family affairs. The Princess Victoria did not attend his coronation and all the relations of the Duchess of Kent with her English brother-in-law were harsh and unhappy. The apartments occupied by the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria were in the southeast portions of the Palace, beneath the King's gallery. They are now unused; but a visitor will find in one of the rooms on the principal floor, having three windows looking east- Pbince AL.BERT— Husband op Quiien Victobia Thm Abore It a portrait of Prince Albert, painted about the time of bis marriage to Queen VlctorlA. Because of the British feeling toward the Oermans, he was not especially favored by the Brltisli Oovemment at the time of the marriage, but he proved so able a man. and helped guide the Ship of State with such wisdom, that the ^hole world todsv nays reverence to his memory and his identltr tea aitarad British history as Albert the Good. Edward TII— King of Great Britain and Ireland, AND Emperor of India Was born at Buckingham Palace, November 9. 1841; Created Prince of Wales, De- cember 4. 1S41; Visited United States and Canada. 1S60: General of British Army, 1862, and Field Marshal, 1875; Married Princess Alexandra of Denmark. March 10, 1863; Grand Master of British Masons, 1874; Visited Egypt and India, 1875; Visited Ireland. 1885; Attended wedding of Czar's daughter at St. Petersburg. April, 1894; Grand Master of the Bath, 1897; Represented the Queen at Naval Review of Jubilee. 1897; Proclaimed King January 23, 1901. Thb Late Queen op Great Brttaix and Ireland, Victoria, and Kino Edward vn QUEEN VJCTOHIA IN COBONATION ROBES "Tremendous events have marked the 19th century; magnificent men have been IMirticipants. but in the white light of them all. none have shown fairer than the maiden Queen, the wifely Queen, the widowed Queen, and everywhere the people's Queen." IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY.- 88 ward over Kensington Gardens, a gilt plate upon the wall, with this inscription: I IN THIS ROOM QUEEN yiCSTOBIA WAS BORN, MAY 24, 1819. A room on the top door served as the Princess' nursery, and in one comer still stands a dolPs house, a headless horse, and the model of a ship, remnants of the toys which delighted her rather monotonous childhood. Here, in the old Palace which in days gone by had been the stately abode of kings and queens and the scene of gay court revels, the Prin- cess was nurtured in all that was simple, loving and pure. Bhe had a natural home life free from the formalities of a court The on^ mis- fortune was that she had no companions of her own age: " For her there was no mate, A royal child of power and state," Her step-sister, the Princess Feodore (daughter of the Duchess of Kent by her first marriage), was eleven years her senior, and though the little Princess was devotedly attached to her as an elder sister, she wbs no playmate for her. Interesting stories are told of the times when Princess Victoria appeared, at fifteen months old, in a child's phaeton, tied safely to the vehicle with a broad ribbon round her waist Her step-sister. Princess Feodore, would draw the child in this carriage. The baby liked to be noticed, and answered all who spoke to her: she would say "lady" and '^good morning," and, when told, would hold out her soft dimpled hand to be kissed, with an arch expression on her face. "Her large blue eyes, beautiful bloom, and fair complexion, made her a model of infantile beauty." On one occasion she was nearly killed by the upsetting of the pony carriage. A private soldier, named Maloney, claimed the honor of having saved England's future sovereign on this occasion. He was walking through Kensington Qardens, when he saw a very small pony 54 fN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. barriage, in which waa seated a child. The pony was led by a page, a lady walked on one side, and a young woman beside the chaise. A large water dog havfng got between the pony's legs, the startled pony made a sudden plunge on one side, and brought the wheels of the car- riage on to the pathway. The child was thrown out head downwards, and would in a moment have been crushed beneath the weight of the carriage, then toppling over, had not Maloney grasped her dress before she came to the ground, and swung her into his arms. He restored her to the lady, and was praised by a number of persons, who speedily col- lected, for rescuing "the little Drina," as the child was called. He was told to follow the carriage to the Palace, where he received a guinea, and the thanks of the Duchess of Kent, for "saving the life of her dear child, the Princess Alexandrina." Such was the statement of Maloney, made late in life, and published in the daily journals. William Wilberforce had a very early introduction to the Princess Victoria, and the way in which he records it testifies to the childlike simplicity of his own nature. Writing to Hannah More on the 21st of July, 1820, he says: "In consequence of a very civil message from the Duchess of Kent I waited on her this morning. She received me, with her fine animated child on the floor by her side, with its playthings, of which I soon became one." The Princess was brought up in the most simple and regular style of living, her whole surroundings being utterly devoid of the pomp and show of royalty. In this early training we find the foundations of that love of simplicity and frugality which always distinguished the gracious Queen. The little Princess' day was passed in the following manner. She rose early, and breakfasted at eight o'clock in the pretty morning-room of the Palace, sitting beside her mother in a little rosewood chair, a table to match in front of her on which was placed her bread and milk and fruit, her nurse standing beside her. After breakfast her. half- sister, the Princess Feodore, retired with her governess, Prftulein Lehzen, to study, and the little Victoria mounted her donkey, a present from her uncle, the Duke of York, and rode round Kensington Gardens. From ten to twelve she received instruction from her mother, assisted by FriLulein Lehzen; then came a good romp through the long suite of rooms with her nurse, Mrs. Brock, whom she affectionately called her "dear, dear Boppy." At two o'clock she dined plainly at her mother^s IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY, 55 luncheon table, afterwards came lesions again until four o'clock, then she went with her mother for a drive, or, if the weather was hot, spent the afternoon in the Gardens under the trees, coming out early in the evening for a turn in her little pony-chaise. The Duchess dined at seven o'clock, at which time the Princess supped at the same table on bread and milk; she then retired for a little play in a farther part of the room along with ^'dear Boppy," joining her mother again at des- sert- At nine o'clock she went to her little French bed with its pretty chintz hangings, placed beside that of her mother. An occasional visit to Windsor to see her "Uncle King," as she called His Majesty George IV., a sojourn at Claremont wfth her adored Uncle Leopold, and a few weeks at the sea in autumn, were the only breaks in her little life. On her fourth birthday she had a great excitement, no less than being bidden by "Uncle King" to attend a State dinner party with her mother at Carlton House. She was dressed for the occasion in a simple white frock looped up on the left sleeve by a miniature of the King, set in diamonds, His Majesty's birthday present to his little niece, whose vivacious maimers seemed to have delighted him vastly. The education of the Princess Victoria was conducted at first by her mother with the help of Praulein Lehzen, who at a later date was formally appointed her governess, and remained with the Queen as confidential secretary for a number of years after her accession. The Princess learned her letters at her mother's knee, but not very will- ing^ly, and we find Grandmamma of Coburg taking sid^s with the little truant. She writes to her daughter, "Do not tease your little puss with learning. She is so young still," adding that her grandson. Prince Albert, was making eyes at a picture-book. When it was made clear to the Princess that until the ABC was mastered she could not read books like her mother, she replied with alacrity, "Me learn too, very quick;" and she did, for there was no lack of ability. Her regular edu- cation began in her fifth year. In response to a message from His Majesty, Parliament voted an annual grant of £6,000 to the Duchess of Kent for the education of the young Princessw A suitable preceptor was now sought for, and the choice of the Duchess fell upon the Rev. George Davys, afterwards Bishop of Peterborough. She made it a rule that the Bible should be daily read to the young Princess. The Duchess confided fully in Dr. Davys; and when it was suggested to her, after her daughter became direct heir to the throne, that some distinguished 66 IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. prelate should be appointed instructor, she expressed her perfect approval of Dr. Davys, and declined any change; but hinted that if a clergyman of superior dignity were indispensable to fill the important office of tutor, there would be no objection to Dr. Davys receiving the preferment he had always merited. Earl Grey acted upon the hint, and made Dr. Davys Dean of Chester not long afterwards. The Bar- oness Lelusen was also retained through the whole term of the Princess' education, and proved an excellent instructress. After six years spent . under the care of her tutors, the Princess could lay claim to consider- able accomplishments. Owing to the exercise of unusual natural abilities, she could speak French and German with fluency, and was acquainted with Italian; she had made some progress in Latin, being able to read Virgil and Horace with ease; she had commenced Greek, and studied mathematics, in which difficult science she evinced much proficiency^ and she had likewise made considerable progress in mu^c and drawing. Occasionally the child longed for companions of her own age, and a delightful anecdote is related in illustration of this. As the youthful Princess took great delight in music, her mother sent for a noted child performer of the day, called Lyra, to amuse her with her remarkable performances on the harp. On one occasion, while the young musician was playing one of her favorite airs, the Duchess of Kent, perceiving how deeply her daughter's attention was engrossed with the music, left the room for a few minutes. When she returned she found the harp deserted. The heiress of England had beguiled the juvenile minstrel from her instrument by the display of some of her costly toys, and the children were discovered, "seated side by side on the hearthrug in a state of high enjoyment, surrounded by the Princess' playthings, from which she was making the most liberal selections for the acceptance of poor little Lyra.'* The chronicler of this incident states that among the flowery bowers of Claremont the Queen's education was informally yet delightfully promoted by the conversation of her accomplished uncle, Prince Leopold, who, taking advantage of the passionate love his young niece and adopted daughter manifested for flowers, gave her familiar lessons in botany, a science in which he greatly excelled. A daily journal of the studies of the Princess Victoria, of her progress and mode of conduct, was kept by the Baroness Lehzen, and submitted once a month to the inspection of Prince Leopold, whose affectionate IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. 67 solicitude for his niece's welfare was not without its beneficial resalts. Lord Albermarle, Leigh Hunt, and others, have testified in almost identical terms to the many charms of the Queen as a young girl, and the natural artlessness and attractiveness of her disposition. From an account written by one of those who saw her in childhood I must quote the following paragraph: 'Tassing accidentally through Kensington Gardens a few days since, I observed at some distance a party consist- ing of several ladies, a young child, and two men-servants, having in charge a donkey gaily caparisoned with blue ribbons, and accoutered for the use of the infant. The appearance of the party, and the general attention they attracted, led me to suspect they might be the royal inhabitants of the Palace. I soon learned that my conjectures were well founded, and that her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent was in maternal attendance, as is her daily custom, upon her august and interesting daughter in the enjoyment of her healthful exercise. On approaching the royal party, the infant Princess, observing my respect- ful recognition, nodded, and wished me a 'good morning' with much liveliness, as she skipped along between her mother and her sister, the Princess Feodore, holding a hand of each. Having passed on some paces, I stood a moment to observe the actions of the child, and was pleased to see that the notice with which she honored me was extended in a greater or less degree to almost every person she met. Her Boyal Highness is remarkably beautiful, and her gay and animated counte- nance bespeaks perfect health and good temper. Her complexion is excessively fair, her eyes large and expressive, and her cheeks bloom- ing. She bears a very striking resemblance to her late royal father, and indeed to every member of our reigning family." Charles Knight, in his Passages of a Working Life, furnishes a glimpse of the Princess as he saw her in 1827. "I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens," he observes. "As I passed along the broad central walk I saw a group on the lawn before the Palace, which to my mind was a vision of exquisite loveliness. The Duchess of Kent and her daughter were breakfasting in the open air — a single page attending upon them at a respectful distance; the matron looked on with eyes of love, whilst the fair, soft English face was bright with smilea What a beautiful characteristic it seemed to me of the training of this royal girl, that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye; that she should not have been burdened with a pre- 68 JN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. mature conception of her probable high destiny; that she should enjoy the freedom and simplicity of a child's nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts up from the breakfast table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining parterre; that her merry laugh should be as fearless as the notes of the thrush in the groves around her. I passed on, and blessed her; and I thank Qod that I have lived to see the golden fruits of such training/' Several stories are told of the quick repartee which "Uncle King" received from his amusing little niece of Kent. During one of her visits to Windsor, the King said, "Now, Victoria, the band is waiting to play; what tune would you like to hear best?" " *Gk)d Save the King,' if you please, uncle," she promptly replied. And again, when asked what part of her visit had been the greatest treat, she discreetly said, "Oh, the ride in the carriage with you, uncle." On this occasion the King had driven her himself, which was doubtless a great event. We get a further glimpse into these little trips to Windsor ip one of Grandmamma CJoburg's charming letters. Writing in 1826 to the Duchess of Kent, she says: "I see by the English news- papers that *His Majesty George IV. and H. R. H. the Duchess of Kent went on Virginia Water.' THe little monkey pPrincess Victoria] must have pleased and amused him. She is such a pretty, clever child." A few years later "Uncle King" gave a child's ball in honor of the visit of Donna Maria, the little Queen of Portugal, to this country. This was the first Court ceremonial at which the Princess Victoria was present. A lady of the Court, however, gave great offense to the King by saying how "pretty it would be to see the two little Queens dancing together." His Majesty had no mind as yet to hear his niece of Kent dubbed a queen. By all accounts the juvenile ball was a pretty and brilliant affair. The children of the highest nobility were there, and paid mimic court to the little Queen of Portugal, who sat by the side of the King, dressed in a red velvet frock and literally blading with jewels from head to* foot. This was the first occasion upon which that spicy Court chronicler, Mr. Greville, saw the Princess Victoria; but he appears to have been carried off his head by the dark-eyed Donna of Portugal's brilliant appearance. "Our little Princess," he writes, "is a short, plain-looking child, and not near so good-looking as the Portu- guese." Another chronicler of the scene, however, remarks that little Victoria was dazzled by so much magnificence; but, *^he elegant sim- IN THE DAYS OP INFANCY. 69 plicity of the attire and manners of the British heiress formed a strong contrast to the glare and glitter around the precocious queen. These royal young ladies danced in the same quadrille, and though the per- formance of Donna Maria was greatly admired, all persons of refined taste gave the preference to the modest graces of the English-bred Princess,^^ The Princess Victoria had for partners at her first ball Lord Fitzalan, heir to the Dukedom of Norfolk, Prince William of Saxe- Weimar, the young Prince Esterhazy, and the sons of Lords De-la^Warr and Jersey. Visits to Uncle King were very rare events, as the Duchess of Kent did not wish her little daughter to see much of Court life; but she took her frequently to see her Uncle Leopold at Claremont, and these visits were the most delightful holidays of all. Writing in after years from Claremont to her uncle, then King of the Belgians, the Queen says: "This place brings back recollections of the happiest days of my other- wise dull childhood — days in which I experienced such kindness from you, dearest uncle. Victoria [the Princess Royal] plays with my old bricks, and I see her running and jumping in the flower garden, as old (though I still feel little) Victoria of former days used to do.'^ In the autumn of 1824, Grandmamma of Coburg was a visitor at Claremont, along with the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria; and it has often been said that she brought her little grandson Prince Albert of Coburg with her, but that fact is not clearly established. One finds a charming account of the royal party in the letters of mss Jane Porter, author of "The Scottish Chiefs." She dwelt with her mother and sister in a cottage close to the grounds of Claremont^ and had frequent opportunities for seeing the Princess, who, she was delighted to find; resembled her lamented aunt, the Princess Charlotte. Miss Porter describes her as "a beautiful child, with a cherubic form of features, clustered round by glossy fair ringlets. Her complexion was remarkably transparent, with a soft and often heightening tinge of the sweet blush-rose upon her cheeks, that imparted a peculiar brilliancy to her clear blue eyes. Whenever she met any strangers in her usual paths, she always seemed, by the quickness of her glance, to inquire who and what they were." At home the Princess was not allowed to attend public worship at Kensington Church for fear of attracting too much attention, service being conducted in the Palace by the Duchess herself during her 60 IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. daughter's earlieBt jears, and afterwards by the Bev. George Davys, her tutor. But while at Claremont she was taken to the little village church at Esher. Fortunate Miss Porter had a seat facing the Clare- mont pew, and it is to be feared that her devotions were somewhat dis- turbed by the attention which she gave to the movements of the royal visitors, although she is able, at least on one occasion, to give a very good reason for her attentive scrutiny. "I should not voluntarily have so employed myself in church,*' she piously writes, "but I had seen a wasp skimming backwards and forwards over the head and before the unveiled summer bonnet of the little Princess; and I could not forbear watching the dangerous insect, fearing it might sting her face. She, totally unobserving it, had meanwhile fixed her eyes on the clergy- man, who had taken his seat in the pulpit to preach the sermon, and she never withdrew them thence for a moment during his whole discourse." Ifext day, from a lady personally intimate at Claremont, Miss Porter learned the reason why the Princess riveted her eyes upon the clergy- man, who, according to her account, was not an attractive person, so that she saw not the "dangerous insect" — she was required to give her mother not only the text, but the leading heads of the discourse. Poor little Princess! those were the days of long and formal sermona It was in the autumn succeeding this visit to Claremont that the Princess paid the first of her many visits to Bamsgate. Three years before she had taken her first sight of the sea at Brighton. During her seaside visits she was allowed to play with other children on the sands, have donkey rides a4 libitum, and to run out to meet the on-coming waves. If they chanced to ripple over her little feet, she was in a high state of glee. Then at Bamsgate she used frequently to go to a delight- ful old dairy-woman's cottage to have a glass of milk before breakfast. We find a graphic sketch of the Princess at this time by a writer in Eraser's Magazine, who in somewhat florid style thus relates his obser- vations: "When first I saw the pale and pretty daughter of the Duke of Kent, she was fatherless. Her fair, light form was sporting in all the redolence of youth and health on the noble sands of old Bamsgate. She wore a plain straw bonnet with a white ribbon round it, and aa pretty a pair of shoes on as pretty a pair of feet as I ever remember to have seen from China to Eamschatka. I defy you all to find me a pret- tier pair of feet than those of the belle Victoria, when she played with the pebbles and the tides on Bamsgate sands," The Princess on this AliEXAXDRA— QUEEX OF GREAT BRITAIX AND lRELAXl> AND Empress op Ixdia Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, Is the mother of six children, four of whom are living. The surTlTing son is the present Dulce of York. Queen Alexandra is the eldest daughter of King Christian of Denmark. Her brothers and sisters are Prince Frederick, heir-apparent to the Danish throne, King George of Greece. Princess Dagmar. who married the Emperor Alexan- der III of Russia, Princess Thyra, who married the Duke of Cumberland, and Prince Waldemar. 64 ) IN THE PAYS OF INFANCY. ^ while some of the ladies of tfie household walked by her side. She was then at the height of enjoyment, and, once mounted, ^not all the king's horses nor all the king's men' could persuade her to come down again. Her mother had made a little rule that she should ride and walk alter- nately; but there were not a few scenes, and we fear some screams, in Kensington Gardens when nurse or governess tried to force the little lady to dismount, for she was as wilful as she was engaging. It was only when the old soldier, who was a special favorite, held out his arms for her that she was persuaded to quit her dear donkey's back." Miss Kortright, an old inhabitant of Kensington, tells of some pretty little incidents relating to this period of the Queen's life. The Princess was known to go with her mother and her step-sister, Feodore, to a milliner's shop in Kensington, buy a new hat, stay while it was trimmed, and carry it home in her hand quite proudly — ^but surely it was the old one she carried in her hand! Meeting the Princess in her pony-chaise one day, an "unknown little girl" asked to be allowed to kiss her. The Princess Feodore stopped the tiny carriage and indulged the child's wish. The "unknown little girl" who secured a kiss from her future Queen was Miss Kortright's elder sister. The Princess had a ready, wit. On one occasion her teacher had been reading in her classical history the story of Cornelia, the mother qf the Gracchi — how she had proudly presented her sons to the first of Roman ladies with the words, "These are my jewels." "She should have said my Cornelians," immediately remarked the Princess. Of course, **the divinity that doth hedge a king" extends in popular eyes in sonie degree to a Princess, and i)eople are apt only to look on the" roseate side. But none knows better than the Queen herself that • human nature is a complex thing, and that, however a child may desire perfection, there is a good deal of the old leaven of imperfection in every one. So the Princess Victoria, noble in character as she was, exhibited some of those imperfections which no child is without, unless it be those precocious creatures in whom supernatural goodness is developed from the first at the expense of a healthy organization. The Princess was impulsive, sometimes not a little wilful and imperious; but the affections being strong and the head well trained, these mat- ters always righted themselves, and the young offender was herself quick to acknowledge the wrong. She had an ingrained sense of justice which could always redress the balance. IN THE t>AYS OF INFANCY. 65 The first grief which the Princess was able to appreciate to the full arose from the death of the Duke of York. The Princess was at this time in. her eighth year, and as she had ever experienced great kindness and affection at the hands of her uncle, his loss affected her keenly. The Duke of York and the Duchess of Clarence were the two members ' of the royal family towards whom her youthful heart was most strongly drawn out. At the time of the Duke's death she was unconscious that his demise brought her one step nearer the throne. The marriage of her sister, the Princess Peodore, to Prince Hohenlohe-Langenbourg> was another wrench to the child, and one which seriously narrowed her restricted home circle. Sketching was a favorite occupation with the Princess, her love of form and of the beauties of nature having been observable at a very early age. When taking walks about Esher with her Uncle Leopold, she often pointed out beautiful bits of landscape, and it was at Glare- mont that she first began sketching from nature. She was fond, too, of looking at pictures and of imagining what the people in them might be saying to each other, a dramatic element in her characljer which found further expression in the mock ceremonies which she enacted with her retinue of dolls. Upon a long board full of pegs, into which the dolls' feet fitted, she rehearsed court receptions, presentations, and held mimic drawing-rooms and levees. Her dolls numbered one hun- dred and thirty-two; a large number of them were dressed entirely by herself in artistic costumes to represent historic characters or people she knew. A list of them, with their names and history, was kept in a copybook. She was passionately fond of animals and of seeing natural history collections; her first visit to the British Museum was an un- bounded joy, and she begged to be taken there often. Botany, too, . delighted her, and she began the study, under the tuition of her Uncle Leopold, among the bowery groves of Olaremont. Lord Albemarle remembers seeing her watering her flowers at Kensington Palace, and tells that it was amusing to see how impartially she divided the con- tents of her watering-pot between the flowers and her own little feet. And so the childhood of the Queen passed under the watchful eye of that wisest of mothers, and year by year saw her fine natural abili- ties developing, and her character ripening into thoughtful maiden- hood. In closing this period of the Queen's life, we can but echo the words of Grandmamma of Ck)burg, who, writing to the Duchess of 88 IN THE DAYS OF INFANCY. Kwit upon the Princess' eleventh birthday, says: "My blessings and good wishes for the day which gave you the sweet blossom of May! May God preserve and protect the valuable life of that lovely flower from all the dangers that will beset her mind and heart! The rays of the sun are scorching at the height to which she may one day attain. It is only by the blessing of God that all the fine qualities He has put into that young soul can be kept pure and ui^tarnished." CHAPTER II. THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. / PriBcem TietorU Learns That She !■ HelresB to the Throne— Her First Beeeptkm-^he Attends the Theatre— Not Present at the Coronation of William IT.— Her Amnsemeats— Journeys with Her Mother—Enthusiastically BeeeiTed by the People— A Narrow Esqape From Death— Her Coniirmation— The Doke of Cobnrg and His Sons, Imest and Albert, Tisit Kensingrton Palace— The IIl-Feeling Between the King and the Princess' Mother- She Attains Her M^ority— The Nation Celebrates the Erentr-Death of King William IT. rHE day on which the Princess Victoria first learned that she would in all probability succeed to the throne of Great Britain may be regarded as one of the important epochs of her life. She was but twelve years of age at the time of her enlightenment on this momentous matter, yet she fully realized the grandeur of the position to which she was moving, and because she felt the difficulty of ruling wisely she was less elated by the splendor than she was impressed by the responsibility of the regal greatness that would in the course of time be hers. Two years prior to the time when she received this definite informa- tion, Sir Walter Scott, after dining with the Princess^ mother, the Duchess of Kent, wrote in his diary, ^fLittle Victoria is educated with much care, and watched so closely that no busy maid has a moment to whisper, *You are heir of England/" Historians differ regarding the manner in which the young Princess first learned the important fact, and there are several stories on this point. It was current gossip of the time that Prince George of Cumberland, a cousin of the Princess, who was very fond of teasing her, twitted her one day with the un? pleasant prospect of having to be a Queen, enlarging on the discom- forts of the position, and throwing out dark hints regarding the un- timely end of Mary, Queen of Scots. If the Princess failed in her lessons, or merited reproof for any cause, Prince George took occasion to say, "A pretty sort of Queen you will make." All such references were received by the Princess with passionate tears. Another version is given by Caroline Fox. Writing in her journal, she details a gossipy visit from her friend Mrs. Corgie, the ^^rightful Om 68 THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. Lady George Murray," who told her that the PrincesB Victoria waB first informed of the high position which awaited her by her mother. The Duchess of Kent desired that her daughter should read aloud that portion of English history which related to the death of the Princess Charlotte. In reading, the Princess made a ^ead halt, and asked if it were possible that she should ever be Queen. Her mother replied: ''As this is a very possible circumstance, I am anxious to bring you up as a good woman, when you will be a good Queen also.'* It appears also that the Princess' governess, the Baroness Lehzen, and her tutor, the Bev. Gfeorge Davys, both claim to have informed their pupil of her place in the succession to the throne. In a letter written in her eighty-fourth year by the Baroness to her former pupil, she says: "I ask your Majesty's leave to cite some remarkable words of your Majesty when only twelve years old, while the Regency Bill was in progress. I then said to the Duchess of Kent that now for the first time your Majesty ought to know your place in the succession. Her Boyal Highness agreed with me, and I put the genealogical table Into the historical book." The Baroness continues her story to the effect that when the Princess opened the book and noticed the addi- tional paper, she said, "I never saw that before." ^It was not thought necessary you should. Princess," the governess replied. "I see," continued the Princess, ^'I am nearer the throne than I thought." "So it is, madam," replied the Baroness. After some moments, the Princess answered: 'fNow, mai^ a child would boast, but they don't know the difficulty. There is much splen^ dor, but there is more responsibility;" and laying her hand in that of her governess, she said, "I will be good. I understand now why you . urged me so much to learn even Latin." The Baroness then explained to the Princess that her aunt, Queen Adelaide, might yet have children, in which case she would not suc- ceed to the throne. "And if it were so," replied the Princess, "I should never feel dis- appointed, for I know by the love Aunt Adelaide bears me how fond she is of children." Yet another account of how the momentous tidings were conveyed to the Princess Victoria is as follows: THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. 69 "The atory of the Princesei discovering that she would be Queen," writes Canon Davys, "has not generally been correctly told. My father had set her to make a chart of the kings and queens. She got as far as 'Uncle William.' . Next day my father said to the Princess, *But you have not put down the next heir to the throne.* She rather hesitated, and said, 'I hardly like to put down myself.' My father mentioned the matter to the Duchess of Kent, who said she was so glad that the truth had come upon her daughter in this way, as it was time she became aware what responsibility was awaiting her." The three accounts agree in showing that the Princess' mother, together with her governess and her tutor, all felt, after the accession of William IV., that the time had arrived for the Princess to be in- formed of her position, and that each of them made a lesson in history the means by which to tell her. As to whether Prince George of Cum- berland had previously let the proverbial "cat out of the bag" remains a moot point The Princess Victoria was now regarded by the people as the heiress-apparent; but the King himself never ceased hoping that a child of hin own might yet be bom to succeed^ and at times he dis- played jealousy of his niece of Kent and ill-will towards the mother who had borne her. In beautiful contrast was the attitude of the good Queen Adelaide. When her second child died, soon after the birth of the Princess Victoria, she wrote to the Duchess of Kent, "My children are dead, but yours lives, and she is mine too." A Court lady recalls a pleasing little incident which she witnessed when Queen Adelaide was still Duchess of Clarence. The lady was si- ting with Her Royal Highness, when the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria were announced, whereupon she rose to withdraw. "Do not go yet," said the Duchess of Clarence. '1 want you to see little Victoria; she is such a sweet child." After drawing the Princess towards her with affectionate greeting, the Duchess of Clarence produced a child's tea-service of the prettiest china imaginable, which, in her sweet, kind way, she had provided as a surprise for her little niece. Trivial as the incident Is, nothing could better illustrate the love of the childless Queen for the heiress to the throne. The Princess Victoria attended her first drawing-room on the 24th of February, 1831, on the occasion of Queen Adelaide's birthday. It 70 THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. waB a reception of unusaal splendor; nothing had been seen like it since the drawing-room at which the Princess Charlotte had been pre- sented on the occasion of her marriage. There were three things to make it of special import: it was the first drawing-room held after the accession of William IV., it was Queen Adelaide's birthday, and the first formal appearance at Court of the heiress of Great Britain. The Princess set out from Kensington Palace with her mother, at- tended by a suite of ladies and gentlemen in state carriages, and es- 'corted by a detachment of Life Guards, Some of the people, as they watched her, cheered, and others wept, for there was something both joyous and pathetic in the sight of this young girl upon whose head the weight of a crown might fall all too soon. At the drawing-room she was the centre of observation. She stood on Queen Adelaide's left hand, dressed in a frock of English blonde draped over white satin. Her fair hair was arranged Madonna-like, according to the fashion of the times, and the braids were fastened at the back of her head with a diamond clasp. Around her throat she wore a single row of lovely pearls. It was no small ordeal for a young girl of twelve, reared in the strictest seclusion, to pass through; but she bore herself with modest dignity, and took evident delight in watching the presentations. The gay scene was as novel to her as to the simplest girl in the land. Two months later another opportunity was taken by Queen Adelaide of giving prominence to the Princess. The Queen and the royal ladies were standing on the balcony watching the pageant which attended William IV. on the prorogation of his first Parliament As the people cheered, Queen Adelaide took the young Princess Victoria by the hand, and, leading her to the front of the balcony, presented her to the assembled crowds. It would be difficult to decide whether the deafening shouts which rent the air were given more in honor of the future Queen or in recognition of the good Queen Adelaide's atti- tude towards the young girl. In the same year the Princess made her first appearance at the theatre, attending a children's entertainment at Covent Garden. The Princess Victoria having been brought so far into prominence^ there was much comment regarding her absence from the coronation of King William IV. and Queen Adelaide in Westminster Abbey, Sep- tember, 1831. Many reasons were assigned for this omission. Some said that the King, jealous of the attention which the Princess had THE LIPE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. 71 excited during the last few months^ would not assign her the place in the procession due to her rank as the heiress-presumptive. On the other handy it was affirmed that the Duchess of Kent pleaded the deli- cate state of her young daughter's health as an excuse for keeping her away from the ceremonial. It is a matter of history that there was always friction between the Duchess of Kent and the King regarding the comparative seclusion in which the Princess was kept. The Duch- ess was determined to preserve the girlish innocence and purity of her daughter by withholding her as much as possible from the Court. The King was well known for a coarse wit. When he was in a good humor *^e swore like an admiral/' and when he was in bad humor t'he swore like our armies in Flanders." His facetious extravagances at the din- ner table were the gossip of the time. Stilly his sailor-like bluntness and cheery jocosity made him, in spite of his easy morals, a favorite with the populace, and there were many who blamed the Duchess of Kent for persistently opposing him. We find a morning journal re- proving her in plain terms for her "impertinence*' in keeping her daughter away from the coronation. The confidence and esteem with which the Duchess of Kent was regarded, however, by the nation was amply testified by the action of Parliament in appointing her to be Regent in the event of the Princess Victoria succeeding to the throne before she came of age. The Regency Bill was passed immediately after the accession of William IVi, and during its discussion Cabinet ministers vied with each other in prais- ing the admirable training given by the Duchess of Kent to her daughter. An extract from the speech of Lord Lyndhurst will illus- trate the general feeling: "The first question which your lordships will naturally ask is, whom do we propose as the guardian of Her Royal Highness under the circumstances inferred? I am sure, how- ever, that the answer will at once suggest itself to every mind. It would be quite impossible that we should recommend any other indi- vidual for that high office than the illustrious Princess, the mother of Her Royal Highness the Princess Victoria. The manner in which Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent has hitherto discharged her duty in the education of her illustrious offspring — and I speak upon the sub- ject not from vague report, but from accurate information — gives us the best ground to hope most favorably of Her Royal Highness' future n THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. conduct. Looking at the past, it is evident that we cannot find a better guardian for the time to come." Aft^r the passing of, the Regency Bill, we find another of those charming letters from Grandmamma of Coburg to her daughter. <^It is only a just return," she writes to the Duchess of Kent, "for your constant devotion and care to your child. May God bless and protect our little darling. If I could but once see her again! The print you sent me of her is not like the dear picture I have. The quantity of curls hide the well-shaped head, and make it look too large for the lovely little figure." The tender family circle of the Princess seemed to be narrowing sadly at this period of her early girlhood. Her favorite paternal uncle, the Duke of York, had died; her half-sister, the Princess Feodore, had married the Prince of Hohenlohe and had left England; and in 1831 her beloved Grandmamma of Coburg died. About the same time her Uncle Leopold succeeded to the throne of Belgium. This was perhaps the greatest grief of all, bringing to an end as it did her delightful visits to daremont. The Queen has herself told us that she "adored" her Uncle Leopold, and his departure from the country filled her with despair. Prom the hour of her father^s death he had been her watch- ful guardian, advising her mother in all points regarding her training, and even providing additional income. The Princess was a warm- hearted girl, passionate in her attachments, as she has remained throughout her life, and one can understand that the break up of so many family ties oppressed her spirits at this time. She had few of the outlets of ordinary girls for throwing dull care aside, the circumstance of her high estate keeping her life monotonous and lonely. Her amusements were all of a quiet kind — chiefly walking in Kensington Gardens, driving her ponies, and playing with her favorite dog Dash, a black-and-tan spaniel. In order to vary this rather too quiet exist- ence, the Duchess of Kent took her daughter on a series of visits to places of interest in her native land. In these days of varied travel, one marvels to find that Her Majesty never set foot .off Eliglish soil, if we except Wales, until she had been several years upon the throne, and was both wife and mother. The royal visitors could not enjoy Brighton by reason of the crowds which dogged their footsteps; but at Broadstairs they spent some pleasant times, residing at Pierpont House; and Bamsgate was always THE, LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS: a fayorite watering-place. In 1830 the Princess spent a long hoi at Malveniy where she led a free outdoor life; and displayed agilil climbing walls and trees. Unfortunately she did not descend ^ equal ease, and on one occasion had to be rescued from the bong an apple tree by the gardener. At Tunbridge Wells the old pe< recall her fearless donkey-riding, and her fondness for coming to di the water from the widow who kept the well. There comes a st too, that her mother would not allow her to outrun her exchequei the purchase of a half-crown box until she had the money to pay foi her rather reckless purchase of presents for her friends haying redu the Princess to a temporary state of insolyency. When her next lowance of pocket-money became due, she set forth on her donkey seyen o'clock in the morning to claim the box, which the shopkee] had retained for her. She was also taken on yisits to country seats; and the story is t< that during a yisit to Wentworth House the Princess was a little t adyenturous in racing about the glades and unfrequented parts of t grounds, heedless of the warning which the gardener had giyen li that they were "slape." "What is 'slape'?'' asked the Princess, rece ing when she had scarcely uttered the words a practical demonsti tion as her feet slid from under her on the slippery path. "That alape, miss," replied the old gardener, with a sense of humor, as ! assisted her to her feet. A note from the diary of Thomas Moore giyes a peep behind tl scenes when the royal trayelers were expected at Watson Tayloi place^ near Deyizes. "Haye been inyited,'* he writes, ^*to meet tl Duchess of Kent and young Victoria . . . rather amused wi being behind the scenes to see the fuss of preparation for a royal i ception.*' He then proceeds to describe a musical eyening, the Duche and the Princess singing duets together. "No attempts at brayura ai graces,'* is his criticism, *T>ut all simplicity and expression. Her Roy Highness eyidently is yery fond of music, and would haye gone < singing much longer if there had not been rather premature prepai tions for bed." To haye pleased the ear of so fastidious a judge ; Thomas Moore proyes that the Princess had a sweet and well-traim voice. Eren during these early jaunts the Princess took part in publ functions. We find her opening the Victoria Park at Bath, and di U THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. » tributing colors to a regiment of foot at Plymouth, and later on, when she visited Wales^ she gave the prizes to the successful competitors at the Eisteddfod. In 1832 the Princess was taken on a further tour, which, being at* tended with some ceremonious arrangement, caused the old King to speak with amused cynicism of his niece's jaunts as "royal progresses/' The Duchess of Kent and the Princess, attended by a modest retinue, set forth in carriages from Kensington Palace, traveling by way of Shrew&bury and Coventry into Wales. They crossed the Menai Strait, enjoying the lovely scenery at their leisure, and passing over the water ' to Anglesey made a prolonged stay in the island, returning home by way of the Midland counties. An opportunity was taken in passing through the manufacturing towns to show the Princess the interiors of some of the factories. It is amusing to find, in records of the period, that the interest which she took in what was shown her is gravely interpreted as evidence of her desire to promote British industries. The fact that she was delighted with a working model illustrating cotton-spinning is commented upon as though she had been a second Arkwright come to judgment, instead of a bright, clever girl full of curiosity. During this tour the Duchess of Kent and her daughter paid visits to several historic country seats, among them Eaton Hall, Chatsworth, Alton Towers, and Powis Castle. Wherever they ap- peared the people came out in great crowds to see them, testifying their loyalty to the young heiress of Britain. The King indeed was not far wrong when he testily spoke of these visits as "royal progresses," for, however desirous the Duchess of Kent might have been to make the Princess' journeys private, the people insisted upon openly displaying their loyalty. In 1833 the Duchess and her daughter resided for some months at Norris Castle in the Isle of Wight, where the Princess was frequently seen enjoying country rambles, or listening to the stories of the sailorei and the coastguardsmen as she lingered about the shore. A pretty incident is told by an American writer who was visiting the island. While in Arreton churchyard, near Brading, he noticed a lady and a little girl seated near the grave of the "Dairyman's Daughter." The lady was reading aloud the story of the humble heroine, and as the visitor regarded the pair he could see that the large blue eyes of the young girl were suffused with tears. He subsequently learned that THE, LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. U the ladies were the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria. It was doubtless during this visit of her girlhood that the Queen formed an affection for the Isle of Wight, which induced her, in later years, to select Osborne as a marine residence. ^ After a period of rest at Norris Castle, the Duchess of Kent and her daughter went on board their yacht, the Emerald, for a cruise in the Channel, visiting Southampton, Plymouth and Torquay. At each place • they were welcomed by loyal addresses from the local authorities. The enthusiasm of the people was great; and if the old King had been an- noyed at the homage paid to the mother and daughter during their tour by land, he was more chagrined than ever by the popular demon- strations of loyalty which attended their progress by water. He sent forth a royal decree that an end should be put to the continual "pop- pings'* of the ships in the Channel in the way of salutes to the Duchess of Kent's yacht The naval authorities were of opinion that the royal ladies were legally entitled to the salutes, whereupon the irate King endeavored to coerce the Duchess into waiving her right to them; but Her Royal Highness replied with becoming dignity: **If the King would offer me a slight in the face of his people, he can offer it so easily that he should not ask me to make the task easier." We fear there were young midshipmen irreverent enough to cry, '^That's *one^ for the King," as they tossed their caps in the air and gave three cheers for the pretty, blue-eyed Princess, who was so merrily sailing the waters of the Channel under the care of her dignified mamma. The King finally ended the miserable contention by summoning the Privy Council to pass an order that henceforth no salute should be offered to any vessel flying the royal flag unless the King or the Queen were on board. The Court chronicler very fittingly describes this as a "council for a foolish business." It was during her cruise on the Ehnerald that the Princess met with her third narrow escape from death. She was sitting on deck when the yacht came into collision with another vessel so violently that the top-mast of the Emerald fell close to the Princess, and would have struck her but for the timely intervention of the pilot, Mr. Saunders, who gnatched her up in his arms and carried her to a place of safety. The Queen never forgot her gallant preserver. She promoted him to the rank of Master when she ascended the throng and cared for his widow and children after his death. 76 THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. While the Princess was thus expanding her mind by travel, her general education was being pursued with strictest care. After the passing of the Regency Bill, and the public recognition of the Princess as heiress-presumptive, Parliament granted an extra £10,000 a year for her education. Her resident governess from childhood was Fraulein Lehzen, the daughter of a Hanoverian clergyman, who came first to Kensington Palace as the instructress of the Princess Feodore. She was made a Baroness by George IV. in recognition of her services to the Princess Victoria, The Queen has related that she regarded her with the warmest affection, although she stood much in awe of her. It has already been told how the Baroness acquainted her pupil with her nearness to the throne, and it would appear from the Baroness^ letters of this period that she had been absent for a time from Kensing- ton Palace, and returned there from Paris in May, 1831. "My Prin- cess,'' she writes, " will be twelve years old to-morrow. She is not tall, but very pretty, has dark blue eyes, and a mouth which, though not tiny, is very good-tempered and pleasant, very fine teeth, a small but graceful figure, and a very small foot She was dressed (to receive me) in white muslin with a coral necklet. Her whole bearing is so childish and engaging that one could not desire a more amiable child." Again she writes, shortly afterwards, that her Princess "flourishes in good- ness and beauty.'' It was now thought, however, desirable by the King that an Eng- lish governess should be appointed for the Princess in conjunction with the Baroness, and His Majesty selected for this important post Char- lotte Florentia (Olive), third Duchess of Northumberland and second daughter of the first Earl of Powia It was the duty of the Duchess to instruct her pupil in matters of court etiquette and ceremonial, to train her in deportment, and to generally instruct her in the lighter graces. How apt was the pupil and how well the instructress succeeded in her delicate task was evinced by the almost startling ease and grace of manner which distinguished the girl Queen when she first ascended the throne. It was the universal testimony of all who were about the Queen that she was unsurpassed for graciousness and queenly bearing. Madame Bourdin instructed her in dancing, and the famous vocalist^ Luigi Lablache, in singing. The Princess must surely have derived some entertainment from her singing-master, for he is reported to have been of such huge dimensions that one of his boots would have made a THE UFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. . 7?i Bmall portmantean, and a child might have been clad in one of his gloves. His portentous voice rang through the bouse like a great bell. His wife is said to have been aroused by a sound in the middle of the night which she took for the tocsin announcing a fire; but it was only Lablache producing in his sleep these bell-like sounds. Mr. Bernard Sale continued to instruct the Princess in music, and Mr. Bichard Westall, B. A., in drawing and painting, in which she grew so proficient that, had she been "Miss'' instead of the Princess Victoria, her tutor was of opinion that she would have been the first woman artist of the day. Bhe once told her tutor that her pencil was a source of great delight to her, and that it was a study in which she would willingly spend more of her time than in any other. This talent has been inherited by all the Queen's daughters, but more especially, by the Princess Louise, who is both artist and sculptor. Mr. Stewart, the writing and arithmetic master at Westminster school, instructed the Princess in those branches of education. Prom the well-known riding-master of the day, Mr. Fozaid, the Princess was rapidly acquiring that grace in the saddle of which old people never tire of speaking, as they recall the days when they saw Hie girl Queen cantering down the Bow. Her mother was her chief instructress in languages; Mr. Amos tn^ined her in the diflAcult paths of constitutional history; while her chief preceptor in Greek, Latin, mathematics, theology, and literature continued to be her childhood's tutor, the Bev. George Davys, who had been made Dean of Chester, and was eventually to be Bishop of Peterborough. The Queen con- stantly spoke of him as "my kind, good master." The Duchess of Kent thought very highly of her daughter's tutor, who also served as domestic chaplain at Kensington Palace. An amusing story used to be told by him. "I like your sermons so much, Mr. Dean," said the Duch- ess one day, adding, as he bowed low, "because they are so short," His son, Ganon Davys, gives a corrected version of the story. What the Duchess really said was that she liked the Dean's sermons because they were so good and so short. Bishop Davys' modesty or his sense of humor led him to omit the word "good" when he told the story. The reverend tutor had a quiet humor, and enjoyed his pupil's clever repartees. The Dean had been preaching from his favorite text, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." The Princess asked, *^o not men reap anything but what they sow?" "Yes," replied r Vs THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. the Dean, "if they allow some one to come pind bow tares amongst their wheaf "Ah, I know who that some one is,'* said the Princess, "and I -f^'s^ri,.^^ _ mnst keep him at arm's length." "At arm's length only, your Royal Highness?" rejoined the Dean. "Well, if I keep him there, he won't do much harpi," was the quick reply. Bishop Davys was fond of telling another story as illustrating his young pupil's fearless truthfulness. The Princess had been giving trouble to her tutor over her lessons one morning, and the Baroness , Lehzen had occasion to reprove her. When the Duchess of Kent came into the room, she inquired after her daughter's behavior.^ The Baroness reported that the Princess had been naughty once. But the little culprit interrupted her with, "Twice, Lehzen; don't you remem- ber?" A less partial judge than Bishop Davys might have discovered a little sauciness in this very truthful statement The Bishop was an exceedingly good elocutionist, and it is to his careful training that the Princess owed her clear and expressive intonation. She waB very fond of good literature, and read principally in the English classics; Pope, Dryden, and Shakespeare being special favorites. The "Spectator" was the class book chiefly used by the Princess, and she also read the Latin authors under her tutor's direc- tion. To him also she looked for religious guidance in the solemn ceremony of confirmation, for which she was now preparing. There is every evidence to show that her feelings at this period were of a serious and devout kind. On the 30th of August, 1835, the Princess stood in her simple white confirmation dress in the Chapel Royal of - St. James's. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London ofBciated at the ceremony, which was entirely private. There were present the King and Queen, the Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of Saxe- Weimar, and several other members of the royal family. The address of the Archbishop was tender and solemn, and as he dwelt upon the obligations of her high estate, and impressively commended her to the guidance of the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, the Princess turned to her mother, and laying her head upon her bosom, sobbed with emotion; a sight which brought tears to the eyes of most who were present. During the past year the Princess had been in a delicate state of health; in fact, at the close of her fifteenth year her condition caused general concern. When, after her recovery, she was again seen driv- QxTSEN Victoria In the 60th year of her reigo. / ( \ Gbotjp Showing Her Majesty the Queen, Prince CoNsoBXy AND Four Children in Windsor Forest What a contrast is this picture to those of Victoria in later life. The little folks have since died or grown up, with homes and children of their own. while the hushand has long since passed away. The Miss at Victoria's right is the present Empress Dowager Frederick, of Germany, and the hoy with the sash and ribbons is now Edward VII, of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India. THE LIFU OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. 81 i ing with her mother in Hyde Park, the demonstration of joy shown by the people amounted to an ovation. We find her now emerging from the unformed period of girlhood into maidenly maturity and comeliness. She was seen more frequently at public places of amusement, and her fresh, fair face, i>eeping from under the huge bonnet of the period, was the delight of the London crowds. The extreme simplicity of attire which had distinguished her as a child was exchanged for rich and tasteful costumes. In the sum* mer of 1836, she accompanied Queen Adelaide to the Ascot races, and as she drove in the royal procession to the racecourse her pretty appearance was much talked of. She wore a large pink bonnet and a rose-colored satin frock, which matched the roses on her cheeks and contrasted nicely with her fair hair and blue eyes. Nathaniel Parker Willis, the American writer, then visiting London, recorded his impres- sions of the Princess as he saw her at Ascot. He came to the conclu- sion that she was quite ''unnecessarily pretty and interesting" for a royal princess. "She will be sold, poor thingP continued this youth of eighteen, ''bartered away by those great dealers in royal hearts, whose calculations will not be of much consolation to her if she happens to have a taste of her own." Not so fast, Mr. Willis; the Prince Charming will shortly appear to woo and win the fair Princess in the pink bonnet and the rose-colored dress, and she has "a taste of her own, and will show it." In the autumn of this year the Princess and her mother made another "royal progress," this time through East Anglia. Loyal demonstrations met them everywhere, and at King's Lynn the railway navvies took the horses from the carriage and drew it for some dis- tance. At Burghley great preparations were made for their reception. Mr. Greville records that all passed off well at the official dinner, except that a pail of ice was "landed" by a nervous waiter in the Duchess of Kent's lap, which made a great bustle. The Court chron- icler does not say so, but it is probable that the Princess laughed at the contretemps. A ball followed, which was opened by Lord Exeter and the Princess, who after dancing one dance went to bed; the Duchess never allowing any festivity to interfere with the simple routine of her daughter's life. Next day the royal ladies set off to Holkham, where they were the guests of the Lady Anne Ooke. Sep- arate bedrooms had been prepared for the Princess and her mother; 83 THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. but the Duchess desired that a bed should be proyided for her daughter in her own room, as they never slept apart. The Earl of Albemarle, who came to assist his sister, Lady Anne Coke, to entertain the royal visitors, records in his autobiography that the Princess ^^had most sweet and jirinning manners.'' In May, 1836, when the Princess was seventeen, there came to Ken- sington Palace some very interesting visitors — ^the Duke of Coburg and his two sons, EJmest and Albert. It was the first meeting of the Princess Victoria and her cousin Prince Albert. Fond relatives had destined the two for each other from their cradles; but the happiness of the Princess was too dear both to her mother and to her uncle. King Leopold, for any coercion to be used. It was arranged for the young I)eople to meet without reference being made to any tenderer tie than that of cousinship. They passed several weeks in each other's society, playing duets on the piano, sketching, walking and riding in Kensing- ton Gardens, and attending some functions in town. Prince Albert, writing home regarding this visit, said: "Dear aunt is very kind to us, and does everything she can to please us, and our cousin also is very amiable." The Queen, in after years, gave the following description of her husband at this period: "The Prince was at this time very handsome, but very stout, which he entirely grew out of afterwards. He was most amiable, natural, unaffected, and merry — full of interest in everything." Baron Stockmar, that judicious person whose busi- ness it was to attentively scrutinize the Prince Albert, had already rei)orted to "Uncle Leopold" that he was endowed with the personal characteristics 'likely to please the sex," and that his mental qualities were also of a high order. At the end of a month the Duke of Coburg and his sons left Ken- sington and returned to Germany. The Princess parted from each of her cousins with equal affectionateness, but we find that Prince Albert is mentioned with special tenderness in a letter to her Uncle Leopold. Prince Albert, too, during his Continental travels, which followed the visit to Kensington, collected views of the places which he visited, and sent them in an album to the Princess, together with a rose gathered from the top of the Rigi. Now a •rose is a rose the whole world over when passed between man and maid, even though it be a dried one from the top of the Rigi. Still we are told that there was nothing .between Princess Victoria THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. 83 and her handsome cousin at this time. It was well known that the King did not favor such an alliance for his niece, and was disposed to give his help to one of the other suitors, for, like "Portia," the young Princess was bewildered by the number of Princes who came wooing. There were five suitors at this time besides Prince Albert. We find a letter of the period in which an application is made on behalf of Prince Adalbert of Prussia that he might be permitted "to place himself on the list of those who pretend to the hand of the Princess Victoria*" The Duchess of Kent replied that such an application must be referred to the King, adding, '*But if I know my duty to the King, I know also my maternal ones, and I am of opinion that the Princess should not marry till she is much older." So in the meantime Prince Albert was traveling and studying in order to be a fit consort, if fortune favored him, for the Queen of Great Britain; the other five suitors were kept at a distance, and the Princess continued to live her h,appy, quiet life at Kensington Palace. On Sunday, August 21, 1836, the Princess appeared at a grand dinner given by William IV. at Windsor Castle, in celebration of the seventy-first anniversary of his birth. On former occasions the Sailor King had given the Duchess of Kent a piece of his mind, — ^just that piece of it which a proper concern for his own dignity would have made him careful to keep for himself. But in his several outbreaks of ill- humor to the Duchess he does not seem to have ever exceeded the boorish extravagance of his last assault on her feelings. The private dinner in celebration of the monarch's seventy-first birthday was a banquet of a hundred covers. Comprising the most important members of the Royal family, the company numbered other personages of high quality, belonging to the court of the neighbor- hood. It was at a Sunday and birthday dinner of this impressive kind that the King's health was drunk, at Queen Adelaide's desire, with fit enthusiasm. In the speech with which he acknowledged this display of loyal and affectionate regard, it pleased King William to utter these remarkable words: ^ trust in God that my life may be spared nine months longer, after which period, in event of my death, no regency will take place. I shall then have the satisfaction of leaving the Royal authority to the personal exercise of that young lady (here the speaker indicated Princess Victoria, who sat on the opposite side of the table), the heiress-presumptive of the crown, not in the hands of 84 ' THE LIFE OF A YOUNG' PRINCESS. a person now near me^ (here the orator turned quarter- way about, and glanced angrily at the Duchess of Kent, who sat by his side), who is surrounded by evil advisers, and who is herself incompetent to act with propriety in the station in which she would be placed [if she became Regent]. I have no hesitation in saying that I have been insulted — ^grossly and continually insulted — ^by that person; but I am determined to endure no longer a course of misbehavior so disrespect- ful to me. Amongst many other things, I have particularly to com- plain of the manner in which that young lady has been kept away from my court; she has been kept away from my drawing rooms, at which she ought always to have been present; but I am fully resolved that this shall not happen again. I would have her know that I am King, and I am determined to make my authority respected, and for the future I shall insist and command that the Princess do upon all occa- sions appear at my court, as it is her duty to da^' Spoken in loud and angry tones, these words extinguished what- ever social enjoyment had previously animated the party. Readers may be left to imagine how Queen Adelaide glanced alternately at the King and the Duchess of Kent, throwing looks of entreaty towards the Sovereign, and looks of sympathy to the Duchess, who displayed her emotion neither by word nor gesture, though her changing color shoT^ed she was acutely sensible of the indignity put upon her. Whilst the orator took his course, heedless of the Queen's imploring counte- nance, the Princess Victoria was moved to tears. It may be suggested that this account of the affair, which is accepted as historically accurate, may be sensationally exaggerated. But the critical reader fails to discover any reason for this claim. It accords with what is known as the King's irritability, his ^'sailorlike" bluntness, and his antipathy to the Duchess. Moreover, the original reporter of the unseemly business was Lord Adolphus Fitz Clarence, who would have been more disposed to modify than to accentuate the particulars of his father's misdemeanor. On withdrawing from the outrageous scene, at which she had borne herself with characteristic dignity, the Duchess of Kent ordered her carriage, and would have returned at once to Kensington, had she not been induced by Queen Adelaide (ever a peace-maker) to remain at Windsor till Tuesday. A partial reconciliation was effected, which on His Majesty's part was a mere engagement to be fairly civil to the THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS, 85 Duchess whilst she should remain under his roof, if she would forbear to ^irritate him past all endurance." If the King kept his promise he barely kept It; for though he may have been formally polite to Her Royal Highness in her presence, he did not hesitate to speak offen- sively about her when she was absent. On the day following the out- break, he declared privately to his son, Lord Adolphus Fitz-CIarence, that he had been insulted by her in a measure that was past all endur- ance, and he would not endure it any longer; and at a later moment of the same day he spoke of her even more offensively, in the hearing of a numerous company. King William had his prayer, and survived the day (May 24, 1837), on which the Princess Victoria completed her eighteenth birthday and passed from her nonage. The event was celebrated in London and throughout the country with an enthusiasm that cannot have failed to gratify the Princess and her mother. From early morning, when the Princess was serenaded by a band of vocal and instrumental per- formers, till night, when the town was illuminated, Londoners sur- rendered themselves to gladness. From noon till evening the great world moved towards Kensington Palace, in order to pay due respect to the heiress-apparent Th6 birthday gifts were countless; and if they were as costly as successive writers have declared them. King William's sufficient offer* ing of a grand piano, appraised at £210, can scarcely have been the richest of all the rich gifts. At the west end of the town the event of the closing hours of the festival was the St&te ball at St James' Palace. It was remarked by the guests at this brilliant gathering that the Princess took precedence of her mother, and in the intervals between the dances occupied the principal chair of state, sitting between the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Augusta. The festivities of the birthday were followed by the reception of successive bevies of municipal authorities, appointed to carry addresses of congratulation to Kensington Palace. With respect to the 'addresses to the Princess and the Duchess of Kent from the city of London, there had been some difference in the common council, where a minority of the councilors, more desirous of humoring the King's sensibility than thoughtful for their fellow-citizens, asked indiscreet questions and made foolish speeches about an alleged absence of suffi- cient precedents for the proposed address to the heiress-presumptive. M 1^ 86 THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. The weak opposition, however, was overborne by the good sense of the municipal chamber; and the addresses to the Princess Victoria and the Duchess having been duly presented, similar addresses fol- lowed to Their Highnesses at Kensington trcan all parts of the country. Shortly before the eighteenth anniversary of the Princess Victorians birthday, William IV, offered to arrange that she should have a separate allowance of £10,000 a year, which should be put at her own disposal, and wholly beyond her mother's control. The King made this offer in a letter, which he sent to his niece by the hands of Lord Conyngham, whom he commanded to deliver the epistle to the Princess herself, — ^an order which the Lord Chamberlain, on coming to Ken- sington Palace, could not execute without first declining to give the missive to the Duchess. More has been written than is known of this offer and its consequences. The Princess is said to have written to the King accepting the offer and thanking him for it, although it was accompanied with a stipulation that he should appoint the officers of her establishment. The Princess is also said to have declined the offer on account of this significant stipulation. It has been said that, while deeming £10,000 a year no excessive allowance for the heiress-pre- sumptive to the throne of Great Britain, the Duchess of Kent was of the opinion that £6,000 of the annuity should be put under the control of the heiress' mother, and only £4,000 be put at the absolute disposal of so youthful a Princess. It is certain that the Duchess and the King differed about the arrangement which he was ready to make for his niece's advantage and for his own authority over her. It is certain, also, that their difference of opinion on this delicate subject was fruit- ful of contention, that endured even to King William's death. At the present time the points in dispute are chiefly interesting because they brought about a conference which disposed the Princess Victoria to think highly of the statesman who soon became her favorite companion and most confidential friend. Though she took no part in the discussion of the several questions, the Princess was present at the conferences that took place between her mother and Lord Melbourne at Kensington about the proposed allowance. Listen- ing attentively to all that passed between the Duchess and the states- man, the Princess observed how strongly the Prime Minister spoke in the King's behalf on the points in respect to which he thought His Majesty was in the right. It does not appear that the Princess con- THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PRINCESS. 87 curred in Lord Melbourne's views and arguments; but she thought the way in which he took the part of the King, whom he knew to be failing, was an evidence "of his honesty and determination to do what he thought right/' Appearing for the last time as Princess Victoria at court on May 29y 1837, when she attended the drawing-room held in celebration of her majority, the heiress-presumptive, somewhat later in the season, made her last public appearance in the same character when she came to the ball that was held at the Opera house for the relief of the Spital- fields weavers. While the Princess Victoria was playing her bright and youthful part so as to be daily growing in the favor of the people. King William was sinking to his last hour. Instead of yielding to the treatment of the physicians, his illness was taking its course towards an event about which the ladies and gentlemen of the royal household were silent. It being a rule of court etiquette that death is not to be recog- nized until its work is almost accomplished, the King's intimates assured one another that he was recovering, while they saw clearly that in reality he was growing worse. Early in the morning of June 20, 1837, William IV. yielded his last breath. Lord Archbishop Howley and the Chamberlain, Lord Oonyng- ham, left Windsor immediately, taking a coach to London for the pur- pose of announcing to the Princess Victoria her accession to the throne of the British Empire. The aged King of seventy-six was succeeded by the maiden of eighteen. CHAPTER III. THE YOUNG QUEEN'S RpIGN. TMoriA Is Infimied Tluit Ske ii Qaeeii— Haw She Beeelfed tlie TUIagt— Her Fbit Omb* eil— H«r AddreflS to die ]MgiiltArie»— CoDdittoii of tho Empire at tiie Time of Her Ao- oemion— Lord Melbonme, tlie Prime Unigter— Hie Qneeii BemoTOS to BveUngfcam MMe-AmeUoratton ef tiie Criminal Lawfr-DaOy life of Her H^etty— Iiurarreelioo in tiie Two Ganadaa— Reform af tlie Caoadiaa Oomtitalloii— Tim Goronalioa— War Ib CUBa— JMffienltiee of tlie Yomif Sovereign* LORD ARCHBISHOP HOWLET and Lord Conyngham reached Een9ington Palace about five o'clock in the morning, and knocked, rang, and beat at the doors aeveral times before they could gain admisaion. When at length the i>orter was aroused, the visitors were shown into one of the lower rooms, where a long time passed without any attention being paid to them. Grow- ing impatient, they rang the bell, and desired that the attendant on .the Princess Victoria might be sent to inform her Royal Highness that they requested an audience on business of importance. Another long delay ensued, and again the bell was rung, that some explanation might be given of the difficulty which appeared to exist. On the Prin- cess' attendant making her appearance, she declared that Her Royal Highness was in so sweet a sleep that she could not venture to disturb her. It was now evident that stronger measures must be taken, and one of the visitors said, ^^e have come on business of state to the Queen^ and even her sleep must give way to that." The attendant dis- appeared, aAd a few minutes afterwards the young Sovereign came into the room in a loose white nightgown and shawl, her nightcap thrown ofF, and her hair falling upon her shoulders, her feet in slip- pers, tears in her eyes, but perfectly collected and dignified. This piquant bit of description, regarding the young Queen's appearance, is from Miss Wynn's ^T)iaries of a Lady of Quality"; and although it is repeated by most biographers of Her Majesty, and has been given the dignity of historic record by Mr. Justin McCarthy in his "History of Our Own Times," it must not be overlooked that Mr. Greville, Clerk of the Council, who arrived at the Palace a few hours later, and received his information from the Lord Chamberlain, relates 88 Four Generations of English Royal. Fa^itly Utc Queen Victoria. King Edward VII.. Duke of York and the latter's son, Edward Victoria in Wehdiko Drkss Que«n VMoH&U m&rrlaee to Prince Albert took place la St, Jam^i' f*a1ac« on Feb. 1ft, IMO. On hut head Her Mijettj wore « simple wremth of oraofe bloeBoiDB, and her maenlflrent velj did DDt cover her face, but hmng do wo on paeh ■houlder. Her ornatoebtB wert* a pair of Large dlaraoad earrings, a dlamaad necklace, atid the OQlIar of ihe Order of the Garter, QuEEx Victoria's Favorite Dog, Sharp Queen Victoria in her Garden Chaise (Photograph from Life.) Queen Victoria The late Ruler of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India, was bom May 24, 1819; crowned, June 28, 1837: Opened her first Parliament. Novem- ber 20, 1837; Married to Prince Albert. February 10. 1840; Birth of Victoria Adelaide, November 21, 1840; Albert Edward born, November 9, 1841; First visit to Scotland September 1, 1842; Corn law repealed June 26, 1846: Declaration of war against Russia. February 28. 1854; Thanksgiving for suppression of Indian mutiny, May 1, 1859; Prince Consort died. December 14, 1861; Proclaimed Empress of India, May 1. 1875; Celebration of Golden Jubilee, June 24, 1887; Duke of Clarence died, January 2. 1892; Inaugurated Manchester Ship Canal. May 21. 1894; Celebration of Diamond .lubilee, June 24, 1897: War declared in South Africa. October 12, 1899; Pretoria 'apitulated. May 30, 1900; Died. January 22, 1901. THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. 93 that, ^On the morning of the King's death the Archbishop of Canter- bury and Lord Conyngham arrived at Kensington at flve o'clock, and immediately desired to see *the Queen.' They were ushered into an apartment, and in a few minutes the door opened, and she came in wrapped in a dressing-gown, and with slippers on her naked feet'^ It is probable that the Queen would and did put on her dressing-gown before giving audience to the Primate and Chamberlain, althougfi in the excitement of the occasion some one may have mistaken it for her nightdress. In 1863, when Dean Stanley was on a visit to Osborne, he asked Her Majesty if she would give him an account of how the news of her accession was conveyed to her, which she did in the following words: ^t was about 6 a. m. that mamma came and called me, and said I must go to see Lord Conyngham directly — alone. I got up, put on my dress^ ing-gown, and went into a room where I found Lord Conyngham, who knelt and kissed my hand, and gave me the certificate of the King's death. In an hour from that time Baron &tockmar came. He had been sent over by King Leopold on hearing of the King's dangerous illness. At 2 p. m. that same day I went to the Council led by my two uncles, the King bf Hanover and the Duke of Cambridge." All accounts agree that, immediately the momentous tidings of her acces- sion were conveyed to the Queen, she turned to the Primate, and said, **I ask your Grace to pray for me." And so was begun, with the tears and prayers of a pure young girl, the glorious reign of Victoria. Queen Victoria seated herself on a throne which had been placed in the council chamber, and Lord Chancellor Cottenham administered the customary oath taken by the Sovereigns of England on their acces- sion. The Princes, Peers, Privy Councillors and Cabinet Ministers, next took the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, kneeling before the throne. The Queen caused these distinguished persons to be sworn in as members of the Council, and the Cabinet Ministers, having sur- rendered their seals of office, immediately received them back from Her Majesty, and kissed her hand on their reappointment. Having ordered the necessary alterations in the official stamps and form of prayer, the Council drew up and signed the proclamation of the Queen's accession, which was publicly read on the following day. One of the principal incidents of that memorable council was the reading by the Queen of an address which ran as follows: 94 THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. ^The seyere and afflicting loss which the nation has sustained by the death of His Majesty, my beloved uncle, has developed upon me the duty of administering the government of this Empire. This awfnl responsibilily is imposed upon vme so suddenly, and at so early a period, that I should feel myself utterly oppressed by the burden, were I, not sustained by the hope that Divine Providence, which has called me to this worlc, will give me strength for the performance of it, and that I shall find, in the purity of my intentions, and in my zeal for the public welfare, that support and those resources which usually belong to a more mature age and longer experience. I place my firm reliance upon the wisdom of Parliament, and upon the loyalty and affection of my peopla I esteem it also a peculiar advantage that I succeed to a Sovereign whose constant regard for the rights and liberty of his subjects, and whose desire to promote the amelioration of the laws and institutions of the country, have rendered his name the object of general attachment and veneration. Educated in England, under the tender and affectionate care of a most affectionate mother, I have learned from my infancy to respect and love the constitution of my native country. It will be my unceasing study to maintain the reformed religion as by law established, securing at the same time, to all, the full enjoyment of religious liberty; and I shall steadily protect the rights, and promote to the utmost of my power the happiness and welftire, of all classes of my subjects." The demeanor of the Queen on this difficult and agitating occasion is described as composed and dignified. She received the homage of the nobility without any undue excitement, and her delivery of the address was an admirable specimen of the clear and impressive read- ing to which the public afterwards became accustomed. Occasionally she glanced towards Lord Melbourne for guidance; but this occurred very seldom, and for the most part her self-possession was remarkable. The quietude of manner was now and then broken by touches 6t natural feeling which moved the hearts of all present. Her Majesty was particularly considerate to the Boyal Dukes, her uncles; and when the Duke of Sussex, who was infirm, presented himself to take the oath of allegiance, and was about to kneel, she anticipated his action, kissed his cheek, and said, with great tenderness of tone and gesture, ^^Do not kneel, my uncle, for I am still Victoria, your niece." The new Sovereign was proclaimed under the title of ^^Alexandrina THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. 95 Victoria;'' but the first name was not officially used aiter that day. In some respects, the accession of Queen Victoria took pl9.ce at a fori;u- nate time. England was at peace with all foreign powe^; her colonies were undisturbed, with the exception of Canada, where some long- seated discontents were on the eve of breaking out into a rebellion which for a while proved formidable; and, about three years before, slavery had ceased in all British possessions At home, seveml of the more difficult questions of politics and statecraft had been settled, either i)ermanently or for a time, in the two preceding reigns; so that large sections of the people, formerly disloyal, or at least unfriendly to the existing order, were well disposed towards a form of goyern- ment which no longer appeared in the light of an oppression. Lord Melbourne, who held the office of Prime Minister at the time of the Queen's accession, was an easy-tempered man of the world, well yersed in political affairs, but possessed of little power as a speaker, and distinguished rather for tact than high statesmanship. It was from this not yery profound statesman that Her Majesty received her first practical instructions in the theory and working of the British constitution. That Lord Melbourne discharged his office with ability, devotion, and conscientiousness, in generally admitted; but it may/ be questioned whether he did not, however unintentionally, give some- thing of a party bias to Her Majesty's conceptions of policy, and whether his teachings did not considerably depress the regal power in England. At this first Council of the new reign it was arranged that on the next day (June 21), Her Majesty should be publicly proclaimed at St. James' Palace at ten a. m., and that the proclamation should be fol- lowed by another meeting of the Council. These arrangements hav- ing been made, the Queen sent for Lord Albemarle, the Master of the Horse, who, hastening to her presence before she had retired from the CouncO chamber, begged that he might be honored with Her Majesty's orders. **I have no order to give," was the gracious reply; ""^ou know all this so much better than I do, that I leave it all to you. I am to be at St. James' at ten to-morrow, and must beg you to find me a convey- ance fit for the occasion." Lord Albemarle was mindful of the command given him by his mistress, and the more desirous to do her bidding in grand style, bec»us^ the details of the nffair had been committed to his discretion. i 96 THE YOUNG QUEEN'S RJEIGN. lieaying Eensiiigton Palac^ the Queen drove with the Dachess of Kent in state to St. James', where her accession and dignity were pub- licly proclaimed. On the 13th of July the Queen, accompanied by her mother, quitted Kensington, and took up her abode at Buckingham Palace. It must have been a period of sad good-byes, for the young Queen was quitting the home of her birth and the haunts of her childhood, as well as leav- ing many loyal hearts around whom her own had entwined. No one was forgotten in her leave-takings; even a poor sick girl, the daughter of Hillman, an old servant of her father's, was made happy by the present of a book of Psalms marked with the dates of the days on which the Queen had been accustomed to read them, and in the book was a marker with a peacock worked on it by her own hands. On the 17th of July, scarcely a month after her accession, the Queen prorogued Parliament in person. It was said that the Duchess of Kent and Her Majesty's physician endeavored to persuade her not to under- take such an exciting ordeal. In fact, the ^^old folks" about the young Queen undoubtedly showed a disposition to keep her away from great public ceremonials, thinking it not ^'quite nice" for a young maiden to be exhibited to a thronging populace. They had counted without their host. Victoria had made up her mind to be a Queen in fact, and not a mere figure-head, and she quickly proved that she could perform the duties of her high estate without losing anything of her delicacy and modesty as a woman. As for the excitement affecting her health, she laughed merrily at the idea, and bade her physician remember that after her very quiet life she found pageants and ceremonials most diverting. 8o a splendid new throne was set up in the House of Lords, and around it was blazoned in gold letters '^Victoria Regina." The Queen was dressed for the ceremony in a white satin kirtle embroid- ered in gold, over which was a crimson robe of velvet, trimmed with ermine. The robe was confined at the waist and shoulders with a gold cord and tassels. Her stomacher was a mass of flashing jewels, and she wore diamond bracelets and the armlet of the Garter. On her arrival at the House the upper part of her dress was exchanged for the parliamentary robes of crimson and ermine. She laughed and chatted gaily with her ladies as they robed her, and, preceded by the heralds and lords-in-waiting and attended by all the great officers of State, entered the House, wearing for the first time a diadem upon he'^ brow. THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. ' 97 She aBcended the throne with a firm step, and remained standing and smiling as the lords-in-waiting completed her attire with the mantle of purple Telvet. Then in musical accents came the words, "My Lords, be seated,'' and the time-honored ceremonial began. The reading of the Queen's speech was the event of the day. "I never heard anything better read in my life than her speech," wrote Charles Sumner, who was present; and the Duke of Sussex, when she had finished, wiped his eyes as he exclaimed, "Beautiful! beautiful!" As soon as the Queen was settled at Windsor Castle she received a visit from her Uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians, and his consort Louise, daughter of Louis Philippe. One can imagine that the royal hostess spared no pains to fittingly entertain the uncle to whose kind- ness she owed so much in childhood. The Queen was her own house- keeper, so far as circumstances permitted, and she managed things right royally, but never contracted a debt. She arranged dinner-par- ties, had delightful impromptu dances, picnics on Virginia Water, organized riding and driving-parties, and got up little evening con- certs, at the Castle, at which she frequently sang herself. She was in the saddle most days for two or three hours, attended by a gay caval- cade of ladies and gentlemen. The Queen's passion for riding infected all the women of the country. Usually the Queen wore a green cloth riding-habit and a black beaver hat; but when, in the autumn, she reviewed the troops in the Home Park, she made quite a martial figure mounted on a splendid grey charger and dressed in a blue cloth coat and skirt and a military cap with a deep gold border. From Windsor she proceeded to Brighton, took possession of the Pavilion, and had a gay time as she took the sea air. She was back again in London in November, and on Lord Mayor's Day made a State entrance into the CSty, knighted the Mayor and the two Sheriffs (one of whom was Sir Moses Montefiore), and dined at the Guildhall. Never had Oog and Magog looked down upon a fairer guest than the young Queen in her pink and silver brocaded silk gown. A little contretemps happened at the dinner. Her Majesty's lace ruffles, having accidentally become entangled with her bouquet and fan, which, with her smelling-bottle, she had laid on the table beside her plate, were the occasion of break- ing the wine-glass from which she had just drunk the toast of the Lord Mayor and the City of London — an accident which caused her some little annoyance. On the 20th of November the Queen opened her first 98 THE YOUNG QUBEN'S REIGN. Parliament, and was greeted daring her progress to the House by the most loyal demonstrations. The question of the Civil List was settled during the session, and the sum of £385,000 was voted as the annual income for the young Bovereign. One of the first things which Her Majesty did with her income was to pay her father's debts, contracted before she was born. It was also said that the Duchess of Kent met with a pleasant surprise one morning when she found on her breakfast table receipts for all outstanding debts. It must be remembered that the Duke of Kent owed his monetary difficulties to his generosity, and that his income was inadequate for a royal duke. But to turn to the more arduous side of the Queen's life. Upon her accession she made her choice in favor of being a working Queen rather than a show monarch, and it became the duty of her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, to instruct her in statecraft. She proved a very apt pupil, and a somewhat trying one, too, for she would know the why and wherefore of every document laid before her, and signed nothing- until she had read it. When the Prime Minister apologized for bring- ing so many business dispatches, the Queen replied: ^'My Lord, the attention required from me is only a change of occupation. I have not hitherto led a life of leisure, for I have not long left my lessons.'' There are many well-known stories about the business exactitude of the young Sovereign and of her conscientious scruples; and it is said that Lord Melbourne declared that he ^'would rather manage ten Kings than one Queen," notwithstanding that the courtly Melbourne liked his position of chief adviser to a lovely young Queen vastly. He was close upon sixty years of age, cultured, polished, every inch a courtier, a man of the world, and a man of honor. There is no doubt that he was an old beau and devoted to the sex. He had no family of his own, no one to love, and he devoted himself to the young Queeu with the affection of a father. He was the leader of the Whig party, then in power; but even the Tory leaders acknowledged his aptitude for the delicate post of adviser to the Maiden Monarch. The Duke of Wellington said, ^^I have no small talk, and Peel has no manners, and so the Queen must be left to Melbourne." The Prime Minister's atti- tude to Her Majesty was far from obsequious, but it conveyed respect- ful deference, and was winning and sincere. He lived at the Castle, and for the Queen's sake accustomed himself to a mode of life which in other circumstances would have been an intolerable ^%ore." In the THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. 99 Qaeen's presence he usually took care only to speak the Queen's Eng- lish, and pruned his speech of all needless expletives; but on one occa- sion he forgot himself. He was sitting in his accustomed place at the Queen's left hand at dinner, when the conversation turned upon the recent conversion of Sir Robert Peel and the Tories to Free Trade and the Com Laws. ^^Ma'am," said Melbourne excitedly, "it is a dis- honest act." The ladies-in-waiting were in a state of consternation; but the Queen, with the admirable tact and good sense which always distinguished her, laughingly told her minister that he might discuss the Com Laws with her in private. The persons who exercised the chief influence upon the Queen at this time were Baron Stockmar, the trusted friend of her uncle, EiAg Leopold, who had been dispatched by him to the British Court to watch over his niece's welfare; the Baroness Lehzen, her former gover- nessy and now her private secretary; the beautiful Duchess of Suther- land, her favorite lady-in-waiting; and, of course, her mother, the Duchess of Kent, who was always her daughter's loved companion, though she took no part in affairs of State. Still, it was to Lord Mel- bourne that the young Queen always turned for advice. The oracular Stockmar, who became such an important figure in Court circles after Her Majesty's marriage, remained for the time in the background. His chief function was to watch "how the wind blew" with regard to Prince Albert of Coburg, the devoted lover whom the coy young Queen was keeping at a distance. In homely phrase, she meant "to enjoy herself for a few years before she got married." The Queen's life at Windsor was regulated with due regard for her many duties. She rose at eight, breakfasted with her mother — ^who was 80 strict in her observance of etiquette that she never came to her Queen-daughter's presence until she was summoned — ^then, dressed in her white silk robe de chambre, the Queen received Lord Melbourne in her boudoir, read the dispatches, and transacted State business. Later in the morning she gave audience, when necessary, to Cabinet Ministers. At two o'clock she rode out, generally at full gallop, attended by her numerous suite, and with Lord Melbourne on her left hand. After riding she amused herself with music and singing and playing with the children, if there were any staying in the Castle. At eight o'clock she entered the room where the guests were assembled for dinner, spoke to each lady, bowed to the men, and, taking the arm Nr> i - lao THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. of the most distinguished man present, walked into the dining-room. The Queen had one little rule which one notes with interest. She would not allow the gentlemen to remain over their after-dinner wine more than a quarter, of an hour, and always remained standing in the drawing-room until they made their appearance. The evening was spent in music and conversation, varied by quadrille parties; the Duchess of Kent always having her rubber of whist. At half-past eleven the Queen retired. Her life at Windsor was varied by sojourns at Buckingham Palace and at the Pavilion at Brighton. Whoever she was, each hour of the day was mapped out, and she spent no idle moments, having the happy faculty for working when she worked and playing when she played. If the Queen had led a quiet, uneventful girlhood, she certainly made up for lost time now, and there was no one in Her Majesty^s dominions who enjoyed life with its pleasures and g^i^ties more thoroughly. The first great historical event in the reign of Queen Victoria was the insurrection in Oanada. This proved to be of very serious import, and undoubtedly showed the existence of much disaffection on the part of the French-speaking colonists. It is probable that the latter had never outgrown the mortification of being snatched from their old association with the mother-country, and. subjected to a Protestant kingdom. For several years after the treaty of 1763, which made over Canada to Great Britain as a consequence of the brilliant victories gained by Wolfe and Amherst, the colony was despotically ruled; but in 1791 a more representative form of government was established, by which the whole possession was divided into an Upper and a Lower Province. Each of the provinces was furnished with a Constitution, comprising a Governor, an Eiecutive Council nominated by the Crown, a Legislative Council appointed for life in the same way, and a Repre- sentative Assembly elected for four years. This Constitution (which had been sanctioned by an act of the British Parliament) worked very badly, and in 1887 the assemblies of both Provinces were at issue with their Governors, and with the Councils appointed by the Monarch. But by far the most serious state of affairs was that which prevailed in Lower (or Eastern) Canada, where the population was mainly of French origin, and where, consequently, the antagonism of race and religion was chiefiy to be expected. Towards the latter end of the reign of William IV,, commissioners were appointed to inquire into The Quben Visitino Highland Tenants. On* of the Oreateat Monumenta to Queen Victoria is In the fact that in all the relatione of life, aa wife, mother, friend, neighbor, and atranger even, she was. if we may accept the concurrent teati- many of thoae who knew her beat, conacientioua. honest, sincere, klad, lAd true. Thia record will be, after all. her crandeat monument. ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL. The last public rites over the late Queen took place here. THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. 103 the alleged grieyancesy and the report of these gentlemen was pre- sented to Parliament early in the session of 1837. 'On March 6, Lord John Russell, then Home Secretary, brought the subject to the atten- tion of the Houise of Commons, and, after many prolonged debates, a series of resolutions was passed, affirming the necessity of certain reforms in the political state of Ganadal These reforms, however, did not go nearly far enough to satisfy the requirements of the disaffected, and by the close of 1837 the Canadians were in full revolt. When the Queen opened her first Parliament, on November 20, the state of Lower Canada was recommended, in the Boyal speech, to the ^^serious consideration'' of the Legislature. Before any measures could be taken, intelligence of the outbreak reached England^ and, on December 22, Lord John Russell informed the House of Commons that the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada had been adjourned, oh its refusal to entertain the supplies, or to proceed to business, in con* sequence of what were deemed the insufficient proposals of the Imperial Government The colonists undoubtedly had some griev- ances of old standing, and their Constitution required amendment in a popular sense. But a position had been assumed which the advisers of the CSrown could not possibly tolerate, and the malcontents were now in arms against the just and legal authority of the sovereign. As early as March Lord John Russell had said that, since October, 1832, no pro* vision had been made by the legislators of Lower Canada for defraying the charges of the administration of justice, or for the support of civil government in the Province. The arrears amounted to a very larg^ sum, which the House of Assembly refused to vote, while at the same time demanding an elected legislative council and entire control over all branches of the Government. The insurgents of Canada had numerous sympathizers in the United States, where many people began to hope that existing complications might effect the annexation of the two Provinces to the great Republic. Those who were the most earnest in their views soon passed from sym- pathy into action. In the latter days of 1837 a party of Americans seized on Navy Island a small piece of territory, situated on Niagara River a little above the Falls, and belonging to Canada. Numbering as many as seven hundred and having with them twenty pieces of can- non, these unauthorized volunteers seemed likely to prove formidable; but their means of defense was soon diminished by an energetic, though 104 THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. somewhat irregular, proceeding on the part of the Canadian authorities, acting, as was afterwards well known, under the orders of Sir Francis Head, the Governor of Upper Canada. A small steamboat owned by the American invaders, with which they kept up communication with their own side of the river, and which was laden with arms and ammunition for the insurgents, was cut adrift from her moorings on the night of December 29, set on Are and left to sweep over the cataract. The affair led to a great deal of diplomatic correspondence between the British and American Governments; but the preceding violation of Canadian soil by a body of adventurers precluded the Cabinet at Washington from making any serious demands on that of London. Ultimately, in the course of 1838, President Van Buren issued a proclamation calling on all persons engaged in schemes for invading Canada to desist from the same, on pain of such punish- ments as the law attached to the offense. This put an end to the diflS- culty so far as the two countries were concerned; but the insurrection was not yet entirely suppressed. Although the worst disaffection was in Lower Canada, both Prov- inces were disturbed by movements of a disloyal nature. In the autumn of 1837 a small party of English troops was beaten at St. Denis; but another detachment was successful against the rebels, and the garrisons oif the various cities, though extremely small, held their own against the rising tide of insurrection. Aided by the Royalists, the Govern- ment force under Sir John Colborne inflicted some severe blows on the enemy; yet the movement continued throughout the greater part of 1838. On the 16th of January in that year, however, the Earl of Durham was appointed Governor-General, of the five British colonies of North America, and Lord High Commissioner for the Adjustment of Affairs in Canada. A liberal policy was inaugurated, which brought the revolt to an end before the close of the year, and the colony soon after entered upon a future of prosperity. But we must now pass on to the Coronation, the great event of 1838, and one of the greatest spectacles of Her Majesty's reign. Long before the day fixed for the ceremony the deepest interest was manifested in it. Amongst the proclamations issued was one declaring it to be the Queen's royal will and pleasure to dispense with, at her approaching Coro- nation, all the ceremonies usually performed in Westminster Hall on such an occasion. These ceremonies included the entry of the Cham- THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. • 105 pion of England oa horseback, whps^ right it was to throw down his gauntlet in defense of the sovereign, challenging any one to take it np. Another proclamation stated that the peers were to be relieved from doing homage in the usual fashion by kissing the left cheek of the sov- ereign. One can imagine the girl-Queen's, dismay if this ancient custom had been maintained in her case. For her royal uncles to kiss her cheek was only a natural proceeding, but that some six hundred spirit- ual and temporal peers should follow each other in kissing the sov- ereign's left cheek would have been ah appalling prospect. The old custom was for each peer, according to his rank and profession, singly to ascend the throne, to touch with his hand the crown on the sovereign's head, and then to kiss her on her cheek. Though all the peers would no doubt have taken care to be present on such an interesting occasion, it cannot be matter of surprise that they were relieved from this and other onerous duties. The flrst issue of sovereigns bearing the impress of Queen Victoria 1;ook place on June 14, but the bankers were only supplied with limited numbers, and could not gratify the whole of their clamorous customers at once. The crown in which the Queen was to appear at the Coronation was made, and exhibited for public inspection, by Messrs. Bundell & Bridge; It was more tasteful than that worn by George IV. and William IV., which had been broken up. The old crown weighed more than seven pounds, and the new, which was smaller, only about three pounds. It was composed of hoops of silver, enclosing a cap of deep blue velvet; the hoops were completely covered with precious stones, surmounted by a ball covered with small diamonds, and having a Maltese cross of brilliants on the top of it. The cross had in its center a splendid sap- phire; the rim of the crown was clustered with brilliants, and orna- mented with fleur-de-lis and Maltese crosses, equally rich. In the front of the large Maltese cross was the enormous heart-shaped ruby which had been worn by Edward, the Black Prince, and which afterwards figured in the helmet of Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt Beneath this, in the circular rim, was a large oblong sapphire. ^There were many other precious gems, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, and several small clusters of drop pearls. The lower part of the crown was surrounded with ermine. The value of the jewels on the crown was estimated at £112,760. The following is a summary of the precious stones comprised \ 106 THE YOVnG QUEEN'S REIGN. in the crown: 1 large ruby, irregularly polished; 1 large broadspread sapphire; 16 sapphires; 11 emeralds; 4 rubies; 1,363 brilliant diamonds; 1,273 rose diamonds; 147 table diamonds; 4 drop-shaped pearls; 273 other pearls. Amid great pomp and ceremony the coronation of Her Majesty took place in Westminster Abbey, on Thursday, the 28th of June. London was awake very early on that day, and by 6 oVlock strings of vehicles poured into the West End. Crowd's of foot-passengers also were on the move, all converging towards one point. From Hyde Park Comer to the Abbey there was scarcely a house without a scaffolding, soon to be filled with sightseers. Seats were sold at a very high rate, w^ile tickets for the interior of the Abbey were bought on the eve of the ceremony at more than twenty guineas each; and the Earl Marshal had to apprise the public that forged tickets were in circulation, the holders of which would not only be stopped but given into custody. Notwithstanding the immense number of persons in the Green Park and St. James' Park, and in the vicinity of Buckingham Palace, the police and military pre- served admirable order. At 10 o'clock a salute of twenty-one guns, and the hoisting of the imperial standard in front of the palace, intimated that Her Majesty had entered the state carriage. The procession then set forth, pre- ceded by trumpeters and a detachment of Life Guards. Then came the foreign Ministers and Ambassadors, followed by the carriages of the royal family, containing the Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of Glou- cester, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex; next Her Majesty's carriages, containing the members of the household and others; and then, after officers and guards of various kinds, came the state coach, drawn by eight cream-colored horses, conveying the Queen and the Mistress of the Robes and Master of the Horse. All the royal personages were loudly cheered, but when the state carriage bearing the young sovereign came in view the enthusiasm was some- thing tremendous. Her Majesty appeared in excellent spirits, and highly delighted with the imposing scene. The troops saluted in succes- sion as she passed, and remained with presented arms ^ntil the royal carriage had passed the front of each battalion, the bands continuing to play the National Anthem. To the credit of the crowd, a hearty cheer was raised for Marshal Soult, which the French veteran acknowledged with great satisfaction, not unmingled with surprise. It is said that THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. 107 every window along the route was a bouquet, every balcony a parterre of living loveliness and beauty; and as the Queen passed, scarfs, hand- kerchiefs and flowers were waved with the most boisterous enthusiasm. Her Majesty was more than once visibly affected by these exhilarating demonstrations, and occasionally turned to the Duchess of Sutherland to conceal or express her emotion. Westminster Abbey was reached at half-past eleven. On each side the nave, galleries were erected for the spectators, with accommodation for a thousand persons. Under the central tower of the Abbey, in the interior of the choir, a platform was raised, covered with a carpet of cloth of gold, and upon it the chair of homage, superb in gilt, was placed, facing the altar. Further on, within the chancel, and near the altar, was Edward the Confessor^s chair. The altar was covered with massive gold plate. Galleries were provided for members of the House of Com- mons, foreign Ambassadors and other persons of distinction, the Judges, Masters in Chancery, Knights of the Bath, the Lord Mayor and the members of the Corporation, etc. Shortly before noon the grand procession began to enter the choir. It was headed by the prebendaries and Dean of Westminster, followed. by the great officers of Her Majesty's household. Then came the Lord Privy Seal, the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh, the Archbishop of York, the Lord Chancellor of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Prin- cesses of the blood royal succeeded: the Duchess of Cambridge, in a robe of estate and purple velvet and wearing a circlet of gold, her train borne by Lady Caroline Campbell, and her coronet by Viscount Villiers; the Duchess of Kent, in a robe of estate of purple velvet and wearing a circlet of gold, her train borne by the hapless Lady Flora Hastings, and her coronet by Viscount Emlyn. Next came one of the most interest- ing parts of the procession — ^the Regalia. St. E!dward's staff was borne by the Duke of Roxburghe; the golden spurs by Lord Byron; the scepter with the cross by the Duke of Cleveland; the curtana, or sword of mercy, by the Duke of Devonshire; the second sword by the Duke of Sutherland, and the third sword by the Marquis of Westminster. Black Bod and Deputy Garter were succeeded by Lord Willoughby d'Eresby, LiOrd Great Chamberlain of England. The Princes of the blood royal now appeared: the Duke of Cambridge, in his robes and carrying his baton as Field Marshal; and the Duke of Sussex, also in his robes of 108 THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. estate. Then in order were the High Constable of Ireland, the Duke of Leinster; the High Constable of Scotland, the Earl of Err oil; the Earl Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk; Viscount Melbourne, bearing the sword of State; the Lord High Constable of England, the Duke of Wellington; the Bishop of Bangor, bearing the patina; the Bishop of Winchester, bearing the Bible; and the Bishop of London, bearing the chalice. After these came the Queen, in her royal robe of crimson vel- vet, furred with ermine and bordered with gold lace, wearing the collars of her orders, with a circlet of gold upon her head. On one side of her was the Bishop of Bath and Wells, with ten gentlemen-at-arms; and on the other the Bishop of Durham, also with ten gentlemen-at-arms. Her Majesty's train was borne by the following eight young ladies, the daughters of well-known noblemen of high rank in the peerage: Lady Adelaide Paget, Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper, Lady Ann Wentworth Fitzwilliaia, Lady Mary Augusta Frederica Grimston, Lady Caroline Amelia Gordon Lennox, Lady Mary Alethea Beatrix Talbot, Lady Cath- erine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope and Lady Louisa Harriet Jenkinson. The last distinguished personages in the procession were the Lord Chamberlain of the Household; the Duchess of Sutherland, Mistress of the Bobes; the Marchioness of Lansdowne, First Lady of the Bed- chamber; six other ladies of the bedchamber; eight maids of honor; eight women of the bedchamber; Gold Stick of the Life Guards; the Master of the Horse; the Captain of the Guard, and other high officials. The scene which followed Her Majesty's entry into the Abbey was one of the most impressive which could possibly be conceived. From a variety of sources we have gathered our description of its most interest- ing features. The Queen looked extremely well, and had a very ani- mated expression of countenance. Some of the foreign Ambassadors had numerous and splendid suites, and were magnificently attired; but by far the most gorgeous was Prince Elsterhazy, whose dress, down to his very boot-heels, sparkled with diamonds. The scene within the choir which presented itself to the Queen on her entrance was very gorgeous, and indeed almost overwhelming. The Turkish Ambassador, it is reported, was absolutely bewildered; he stopped in astonishment, and for some time would not move up to his allotted place. The Queen was received with hearty plaudits as she advanced slowly towards the center of the choir; the anthem, *T was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the house of the Lord,'* being meanwhile sung THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. 109 by the musicians. Then, with thrilling effect and full trumpet accom- paniment, "God Save the Queen" was rendered. The booming of the guns outside was deadened by the tumultuous acclamations of those within the Abbey, which did not close till the beloved object of this enthusiastic homage reached the recognition-chair, on the southeast of the altar. Here the Queen knelt at the faldstool, engaging in silent prayer. Her mind must have been agitated with deep and conflicting emotions at this awful moment, when the vast weight of her responsi- bilities pressed in upon her. There were many who shed tears as the simple maiden, the center of so much splendor and the cynosure of a whole Empire, implored the Divine strength in the fulfilment of her sovereign duties. When she rose from her devotions the pealing notes of the anthem rang through the arches of the Abbey. Scarcely had the music ceased when, in pursuance of their prescriptive right, the Westminster scholars rose up with one accord and acclaimed their sovereign. They shouted in almost deafening chorus, **Victoria, Victoria! Vivat Victoria BeginaP This was the first actual incident in the proceedings of the Goronation. The Archbishop of Canterbury now advanced from his station at the great southeast pillar to the east side of the theater or platform, accompanied by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Oreat Chamberlain, the High Constable and the Earl Marshal, preceded by Garter Eing-at-Arms; and presenting the youthful monarch to her people, made the recognition in these words: ^Sirs, I here present unto you Queen Victoria, the undoubted Queen of this realm; wherefore, all you who are come this day to do your homage, are you willing to do the same?'' In response there was a rapturous and general shout of ^^God save Queen VictoriaP' The Archbishop and the great officers of state made the same recognition to the people on the other three sides of the Abbey, south, west and north; the Queen remaining standing, and turning her- self about to face her loyal lieges on each side as the recognition was made, which was answered with long and repeated acclamations. The last recognition over, the drums beat, the trumpets sounded and the band struck up the National Anthem. This part of the ceremonial has been described as one of the most striking and picturesque. The Bishops who bore the patina, Bible and chalice in the procession 110 tHE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. now placed the same on the altar. The Queen, attended by the Bishops of Durham and Bath and Wells and the Dean of Westminster, with the great officers of state and noblemen bearing the regalia, advanced to the altar, and, kneeling upon the crimson-Telvet cushion, made her first offering, being a pall or altar-cloth of gold, which she delivered to the Archbishop of C5anterbury, by whom it was placed on the altar. Her Majesty next placed an ingot of gold, of one pound weight, in the hands of the Archbishop, by whom it was put into the oblation basin. The bearers of the regalia, except those who carried the swords, then pro- ceeded in order to the altar, where they delivered St. Edward's crown, the scepter, dove, orb, spurs and all the other insignia of royalty, to the Archbishop, who delivered them to the Dean of Westminster, by whom they were placed on the altar. The religious ceremony now began with the reading of the Litany by the Bishops of Worcester and St. David's, Then followed the Communion Service, read by the Archbishop of Can- terbury and the Bishops of Rochester and Carlisle. The Bishop of Lon- don preached the sermon from the following text, in the Second Book of Chronicles, chap, xxxiv, verse 31st: "And the King stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and statutes, and with all his heart and all his soul to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.^ Her Majesty paid profound attention to the words of the sermon, in the course of which the Bishop praised the late King for his unfeigned religion, and exhorted his youthful successor to follow in his footsteps. The earnest manner in which she listened, and the motion with which, at the mention of her dead uncle, she bowed her Jiead on her hand to conceal a falling tear, were highly touching. On the conclusion of the service the Archbishop advanced towards the Queen, addressing her thus: "Madam, is Your Majesty willing to take the oath?' The Queen replied, "I am willing." "Will you solemnly promise and swear,*^ continued the Archbishop, "to govern the people of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- land, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the respective laws and customs of the same?" THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. Ill Jn an audible voice the Queen answered, "I solemnly promise so to do." 'Will you, to your power, cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?' '*I wUL'' Then said the Archbishop: 'Will you, to the utmost of your power, maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant reformed religion established by law? And will you jnain- taintand preserve inviolably the settlement of the united Church of England and Ireland, and the doctrine, worship, discipline and govern- ment thereof, as by law established within England and Ireland and the territories thereunto belonging? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and clergy of England and Ireland, and to the churches theire committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?" Clearly and firmly the Queen replied: "All this I promise to do." Her Majesty, with the Lord Chamberlain and other officers, the sword of state being carried before her, then went to the altar and took the Coronation oath. Laying her right hand upon the Gospels in the Bible carried in the procession, and now brought to her by the Arch- bishop, she said, kneeling: ''The things which I have herebefore promised I will perform and keep. So help me, God!" Then the Queen kissed the book, and to a transcript of the oath set ' her royal sign manual. The Duchess of Kent was observed to be deeply affected during the whole of this office. After signing. Her Majesty knelt upon her faldstool while the choir sang Veni, Creator, Spiritus. The next part of the ceremony, the anointing, was extremely inter- esting. The Queen sat in King Edward's chair; four Knights of the Garter — ^the Dukes of Buccleuch and Rutland, and the Marquises of Anglesey and Exeter — ^held a rich cloth of gold over her head; the Dean of Westminster took the ampulla from the altar and poured some of the oil it contained into the gold anointing-spoon; then the Archbishop anointed the head and hands of the Queen, marking them in the form of a cross, and pronouncing these words: ^'Be thou anointed with holy oil, as Kings, priests and prophets were anointed. And as Solomon was anointed King by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, so be you anointed, blessed and consecrated Queen 112 THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. over this people, whom the Lord your Ood hath given you to rule and govern. In the name of the Father^ and of the Son, and of the Holy Qhost Amen." The Archbishop then pronounced a prayer or blessing over the sov- ereign. The spurs were presented by the Lord Chamberlain to the Queen, who returned them to the altar. The sword of state was presented by Lord Melbourne to the Archbishop, who in delivering it into the Queen's right hand said: ^Receive this kingly sword, brought now from the altar of God and delivered to you by the hands of us, the servants and Bishops of Ood, though unworthy. With this sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy CJhurch of Gtod, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the things that are restored, punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good order; that doing these things you may be glorious in all virtue, and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life that you may reign forever with Him in the life which is to come. Amen/' Lord Melbourne, according to custom, redeemed the sword "with a hundred shillings," and carried it unsheathed before Her Majesty during the remainder of the ceremony. Then followed the investing with the royal robe and the delivery of the orb. At this point there was some little confusion, and when the orb was put into the Queen's hand she turned to Lord John Hiynne and said: **What am I to do with itf **Your Majesty is to hold it, if you please, in your hand." ''Am I?" she said: ''it is very heavy." As each article of the regalia was given to the Queen the Archbishop accompanied it with a suitable exordium. When the investiture per tmnulum et haculum — the ring and sceptre — ^was performed, it was found that the ruby ring had been made for Her Majesty's little finger instead of the fourth, on which the rubric pre- scribes that it should be put When the Archbishop was to put it on, she extended the former, but he said it must be on the latter. She replied that it was too small, and that she could not get it on. The Archbishop said it was right to put it there, and as he insisted, she yielded, but had first to take off her other rings, and then this was forced on, but it hurt her very much, and as soon as the ceremony was over she was obliged to bathe her finger in iced water in order to get it off. THE YOUNG QUEEN'S T^EIGN. 113 One carious culstom was observed by the Duke of Norfolk, who, as ' lord of the manor of Worksop, holds an estate by the service of present- ing to the sovereign a rigbt*hand glove during the ceremonial of the Coronation. The Duke left his seat, and approaching the Queen, kneel- ing^ presented to her a glove for her right hand, embroidered with the arms of Howard, which Her Majesty put on. His Grace afterwards occasionally p^ormed his high feudal office of supporting the sov- ereign's ri|^t arm, or holding the scepter by her side. The Archbishop, in delivering the scepter with the cross into the Queen's right hand, said: ^^Beceive the royal scepter, the ensign of kingly power and justice." Next he delivered the rod with the dove into the Queen's left hand, this being **the rod of equity and mercy." The Archbishop then took the crown into his hands, and laying it upon the. alter, offered up a prayer. Turning from the altar with the other Bishops, he now received the crown from the Dean of Westminster and placed it on Her Majesty's head; whereupon the people, with loud and repeated shouts, cried, "Gk)d save the Queen P' At the moment the crown wAs placed on the head of the sovereign the act was made known by signal to the semaphore at the Admiralty, from whence it was trans- mitted to the outports and otlier places. A double royal salute of forty- one guns was fired, and the Tower, Windsor, Woolwich and other guns gave a similar greeting to the crowned monarch of the British realms. On the assumption.of the crown, the peers and peeresses put on their coronets, the bishops their caps, and the kings-of-arms their crowns; while the trumpets sounded, the drums beat, and the Tower and park guns fired their volleys. Then the full burst of the orchestra broke forth, and the scene was oie of such grandeur as to defy description. The Queen was visibly agitated during the long-reiterated acclama^ tions. Her bosom heaved witfi suppressed emotion, and she turned her expressive eyes involuntarily, as if for maternal support, on her sympa- thizing mother, who, with infinitely less command of her feelings, wAs drowned in tears, and occasionally sobbed most audibly. By a strong effort Her Majesty r^ained her composure, and the august ceremonial I^oceeded. After an anthem had been sung, the Archbishop presented the Bible to the Queen, who gave it to the Dean of Westminster to be placed on the altar. The benediction was then delivered by the Archbishop, all the bishops, with the rest of the peers, responding to every part of the 114 THE YOUNG QUEENS REIGN. blessing with a loud and hearty ^AmenT' The choir then began to sing the "Te Deum," and the Qneen proceeded to the, chair which she first occupied, supported by two bishops. She was then "enthroned,** or ^^ifted/' as the formulary states, into the chair of homage, by the arch- bishops, bishops, and peers surrounding her. Then began the cere- mony of homage. The Archbishop of Canterbury knelt and did homage for himself and other lords spiritual, who all kissed the Queen's hand. The royal dukes, with the temporal peers, followed according to their precedence^ class by class. Ascending the steins leading to the throne, and taking off their coronets, they repeated the oath of homage in the following quaint and homely Saxon form: "I do become your liegeman of life and limb, and of earthly worship; and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folks. So help me GodP Each peer then in his turn touched the cross on Her Majesty's crown, in token of his readiness to support it against all adversaries. He then kissed the sovereign's hand and retired. A pretty and touching scene took place when the royal dukes, who alone kissed Her Majesty!s cheek, came forward to do homage. The Duke of Sussex, who was suffering from indisposition, was feebly and with great difficulty ascending the steps of the throne, when the Queen, yielding to the impulse of natural affection, flung her fair arms about jiis neck and tenderly embraced him. The Duke was so overcome by this genuine display of feeling that he was supported from the theatre by some of the peers, being unable to repress his emotion. The Duke of Wellington, Earl Grey, and Lord Melbourne were loudly cheered as they severally ascended the steps of the throne. Another incident which went to the heart of the people — ^for it showed that the Queen's kindness of heart had not forsaken her even in the midst of so great a ceremony — occurred when old Lord RoUe, who was between eighty and ninety years of age, went up to do homage. Har- riet Martineau, who was in the Abbey and witnessed the scene, thus describes it: ^^The homage was as pretty a sight as any: trains of peers touching her crown and then kissing her hand. It was in the midst of that process that poor Lord Bolle's disaster sent a shock through the whole assemblage. It turned me very sick. The large infirm old man was held up by two peers, and had nearly reached the royal footstool, when he slipped through the hands of his supporters, and rolled over THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. US and over down the steps, lying at the bottom coiled up in his robes. He was instantly lifted np, and he tried again and again, amidst ^outs of admiration of his valor. The Queen at length spoke to Lord Melbourne^ who stood at her shoulder, and he bowed approval; on which she rose, leaned forward, and held out her hand to the old man, dispensing with his touching the crown. He was not hurt, and his self -quizzing on his misadventure was as brave as his behavior at the time. A foreigner in London gravely reported to his own countrymen, what he entirely believed on the word of a wag, that the Lords BoUe held their title on the condition of performing the feat at every coronation?* Another account observes that the Queen^s "first impulse was to rise, and when afterwards Lord BoUe came again to do homage she said, ^May I not get up and meet him?' and then rose from the throne and advanced down one or two of the steps to prevent his coming up — ^an act of graciousness and kindness which made a great sensation. It is in fact the remarkable union of naivete, kindness, and native good nature, with propriety and dignity, which makes her so admirable and so endearing to those about her, as she certainly is. I have been repeatedly told that they are all warmly attached to her, but that all feel the impossibility of for a moment losing sight of the respect which they owe her. She never ceases to be a queen, but is always the most charm- ing, cheerful, obliging, unaffected queen in the world." While the lords were doing homage, the Earl of Surrey, Treasurer of the Household, threw coronation medals in silver about the choir and lower gaUeries, which were scrambled for with great eagerness. A London alderman was thrown on the ground and rolled over in the struggle for one of these medals. It was feared that a battle-royal would ensue between some of the competitors. One of the sons of the Duke of Bichmond secured thirteen of the medals, which he placed on his page's sash, in Oriental fashion. High-born ladies entered into the struggle as well as the sterner sex. At the conclusion of the homage the choir sang the anthem, "This is the day which the Lord hath made." The Queen received the two sceptres from the Dukes of Norfolk and Bichmond; the drums beat, the trumpets sounded, and the Abbey rang with exultant shouts of "€k>d save Queen Victoria! Long live Queen Victoria! May the Queen live forever!" The members of the House of Commons raised the first acclamation with nine cheers. Of the House of Commons as then con* r- 116 THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. stituted there survive ^nly two ' members who are members of the Lower House at the present time — Mr. Villiers, and Mr. Christopher M. Talbot The solemn ceremony of the coronation being now ended, the Arch* bishop of Canterbury went to the altar. The Queen followed him, and having divested herself of the symbols of sovereignty, she knelt down before the altar. The Gospel and EJpistle of th^ Communion Service having been read by two bishops, Her Majesty made her offeriug of bread and wine for the communion, in the paten and chalice. A second oblation was a purse of gold, which was placed on the altar. The Queen received the sacrament kneeling on the faldstool by the chair. Afterwards she put on her crown, and with her sceptres in her hands, took her seat again upon the throne. The Archbishop then pro- ceeded with the Communion Service, and pronounced the final blessing. The choir sang the noble anthem, "Hallelujah! for the Lord God omni- potent reigneth.^ * The Queen then left the throne, and attended by two bishops and noblemen bearing the regalia and swords of state, passed into King Edward's Chapel, the organ playing. The Queen delivered the sceptre with the dove to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who laid it on the altar. She was then disrobed of her imperial robe of State, and arrayed in her royal robe of purple velvet by the Lord Chamberlain. The Arch- bishop placed the orb in her left hand. The gold spurs and St. Ekiward's staff were delivered by the noblemen who bore them to the Dean of Westminster, who placed them on the altar. The Queen then went to the west door of the Abbey wearing her crown, the sceptre with the cross being in her right, and the orb in her left hand. The swords and regalia were delivered to gentlemen who attended to receive them from the Jewel Office. It was nearly four o'clock when the royal procession passed through the nave at the conclusion of the ceremony. As the Queen emerged from the western entrance of the Abbey, there came from the thousands and tens of thousands of her subjects assembled in the vicinity thunders of acclamation and applause. Similar greetings awaited her on the whole of the homeward route; and the scene was even more impressive than in the morning, as Her Majesty now wore her crown, and the peers and peeresses their robes and their jeweled coronets. To the coronation succeeded the festivities. The Queen gave a grand THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. ' 117 banquet to one hundred guestSi and the Duke of Wellington a ball at Apsley House which was attended by 2,000 persons. On the next day, and for three succeeding days (omitting Sunday), a fair was held in Hyde Park, « this popular festive entertainment being visited by Her Majesty on the Friday. All the theatres in the metropolis, and nearly all other places of public amusement, were by the Queen's command opened gratuitously on the evening of the coronation. The peaceable and orderly behavior of hundreds of thousands of persons belonging to the middle and lower classes during the festivities extorted the admira- tion of foreign residents in London, and was much commented upon. The accidents and offenses reported were extraordinarily few. Bnthusi- astic demonstrations took place throughout the country, and public dinners, feasts to the poor, processions and illuminations were the order of the day. Every town in England had its rejoicings; while in the chief continental cities British subjects assembled to celebrate the auspicious event, A parliamentary return showed that the entire expenses of the coro- nation amounted to £69,421 Is. lOd., of which sum nearly half was incurred by the fitting up of Westminster Abbey. The coronation expenses of George IV., which the Chancellor of the Exchequer esti- mated would not exceed £100,000, amounted to £238,000. There was quite a shower of honors and dignities in connection with the Queen's coronation; but the peers need not detain us, and out of the twenty-nine baronets created, only two will enjoy a permanent fame — namely, Edward Bulwer Lytton, as representing literature, and John Frederick William Herschel, as representing science. A Sovereign is exposed to annoyances from which private individ- uals are free. Mary, Queen of Scots, Marie Antoinette, and other female monarchs, attracted by their loveliness and other qualities an admira- tion which frequently proved embarrassing. We have already seen that this was the case with the Princess Victoria, and after she became qneen she had both her admirers and assailants. She was subjected to many annoyances during the year succeeding her coronation. A Scotch youth traveled from the far North to Windsor that he might become personally acquainted with Her Majesty, whom he announced he was destined to espouse. His mental malady having become only too appar- ent, he was placed under restraint. Another individual succeeded in obtaining admission to the Chapel Royal, and planted himself opposite 1 I I 118 THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REtGN. to the royal closet After greatly disturbing the Queen by his rude and eager gaze, he began to bow and kiss his hand to her, till he was removed by the proper authorities. Incoherent letters, the result of similar aberrations of reason, were addressed to the Queen in great numbers, and some of them found their way into the public journals. In the spring of 1839 Her Majesty was passing in her carriage through the triumphal arch facing the Duke of Wellington's mansion in Piccadilly, when a man rushed from the crowd and threw a letter inta the coach with such violence that it struck the Queen upon the face. Bhe remained quite calm, and indicated the offender, who was seized and conveyed to the police station, when it was found that he was the victim of a hallucination. Amongst other cases were those of Thomas Flowers, who was found in the Queen's apartments at Buckingham Palace; and Charles Willets, traveler to a commercial house in Basing- hall street The conduct of the latter was especially offensive. As the Queen was taking an airing in Hyde Park in July, 1839, he followed her on horseback, and endeavored to get by the side of Her Majesty. Foiled in this, he kept crossing and recrossing in front of the Queen, and endeavored to attract her attention by placing his hand on his left breast, waving his hand, and otherwise acting in a most ridiculous manner. As nothing could be done with him, Oolonel Cavendish gave him into custody. Being brought up at Bow Street, he was fined £5 for assaulting the Queen's outrider, and ordered to find bail, himself in £200, and two respectable householders in £100 each, to keep the peace for six months. ' When Queen Victoria announced to her Prime Minister that she had resolved to marry. Lord Melbourne replied, with paternal solici- tude: ^TTour Majesty will be much more comfortable, for a woman can- not stand alone for any time, in whatever position she may be." This was in the autumn of 1839, and the previous six months had probably been to the young Queen the most unhappy which she had ever experienced, owing to the strifes and jealousies of the two great political parties in the country. The atmosphere of reserve in which Her Majesty was compelled to live was very unnatural for a young ^irl, and oppressive to one of her open, candid disposition. Often she must have longed for the companionship of one with whom she could be her- self, unrestricted by regal considerations. There were many suitors for the hand of the fair occupant of the .V HONUMENTS OF B£ACON8FmiJ> AND MALCOLM Westminiter Abbey contains the ashes of many great men and women. Among these are Disraal^ Lord Beaconsfleld. who was twice Prime Minister of England. Sir John Malcolm. Lord Chatham. 8tl Robert Peel ard many others. THE YOUNG QUEEN'S REIGN. 121 greatest throne in the world, among them the Prince of Orange; and it is a curious coincidence that a former Prince of Orange came a-wooing to the Princess Charlotte. After a period of indecision, that royal lady dismissed her suitor, peremptorily, not, however, without going to the window to take a last look at him as he mounted his horse, which caused the ladies^n-waiting to think that the Princess was about to relent; but when, after gazing intently at his retreating figure, clad in' s^ scarlet uniform surmounted by a hat with nodding green plumes, she exclaimed, ^*How like a radish he looks !** it was felt that his fate. was finally settled. There are not any stories about Queen Victoria either receiving or dismissing suitors, the proposals for her hand being made officially and rejected in the same manner. The one love episode of her life was with her cousin. Prince Albert, second son of the reigning Duke of SiuceCk)burg-Ootha, and all the world knows of its hapi^ fulfilment > « ' ' rr .' CHAPTER IV. THE QUEEN A BRIDE Frinee Albert BliHiplaoe— His Early Life— Hig Engagliig QaaUtteft-PrineeiM TietoTfA«s AttMhnieiit for Him— The ({aeen PropoflM Mftrrlage to Him— His Yisits to England— Tlio i)neen Informs the Cooneil of Her Intended Marriage— Parliament Totes the Prinee an Innnitj of jf 110,000— Hie Wedding Ceremony at the Cliapel Royal St. James —A nation B^oloeo. PBmx:!E ALBEBT was bom at the Bosenau, a summer residence of his father^ situated about four miles from Coburg, on August 26, 1819. The future husband of the Queen was therefore about a quarter of a year younger than herself. From his childhood he had given proof of an excellent disposition, and as he gained in years he became extremely intelligent and studious. It is easy to flatter a Prince, and many tongues are always ready to perform the task. But it seems to be the absolute truth to say of Prince Albert that his nature was manly, sincere and affectionate; that his life was blameless and dis- creet, and that his intellect and acquirements were remarkable, even at an early age. Added to this he was graced with physical beauty and pleasing manners; so that in more ways than one he attracted the atten- tion of many observers In fact, some of his admirers seemed to think that he was almost too much of a seraph for this mundane sphere; but by the time he was six years old he showed that he was pretty much like other boys, and in a naive little diary which he kept there occur these two somewhat startling items: ''9th April. I got up well and happy; afterwards I had a fight with my brother." "10th April. I had another fight with my brother: that was not right." The young Princes were active and courageous, but they were also very studious. Albert's grandmamma Coburg led him to take an interest in his cousin, the Princess Victoria, and to corre- spond with her at an early date. The Duchess was the mother of Prince , Leopold and the Duchess of Kent. She died when Prince Albert was twelve years old. The young Prince's training was very thorough, embracing tuition in various branches of science, languages^ music, litera- ture, ethics and politics. He had also a fine moral and physical training, so that as he advanced towards manhood he was upright both in mind 228 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. 123 and body. A programme of studies which he drew up for himself when in his fourteenth year is of a most comprehensive and^ useful character. His mind was further enlarged by travel, and after tours in Germany, Austria and Holland, he visited England, spending some time with the Duchess of Kent and his cousin at Eensington Palace. At the close of his university career at iBonn, Prince Albert traveled with Baron Stock- mar in Switzerland and Italy. The King of the Belgians had always favored a marriage between the cousins Victoria and Albert, but King William IV. had strongly discouraged it. However, the Princess Victoria repeatedly declared that she would marry nobody else (though five suitors were found for her), and when she became Queen she of course had her right to choose without let or hindrance. In his home at Erenburg, in the spring of 1839, Prince Albert was agreeably surprised, on entering his apartments after a long journey, to receive a smiling welcome from the features of his fair cousin, the young Queen of England. It appears that she had sent her portrait, executed hy Chalon, for his acceptance, and it was privately placed, by her desire, 80 that it should be the first object to meet his view on his return. The two brothers, Ernest and Albert^ again visited England in the ensuing October, this being the third occasion on which they had done 80. They reached Buckingham Palace on the 10th, and were conveyed thence in the royal carriages to Windsor Castle. The Queen appears to have been still more impressed than before with her younger cousin, and in writing to her uncle Leopold she remarked : "Albert's beauty is most striking, and he is most amiable and unaffected; in short, very fascinatr ing.'* Then, with maidenly reserve, as though she had been too com- municative, she hastened to add : "The young men are both amiable, and delightful companions, and I am glad to have them here." The manner of life at Windsor during the stay of the Princes is thus described: "The Queen breakfasted at this time in her own room; they afterwards paid her a visit there; and at two o'clock had luncheon with her and the Duchess of Kent. In the afternoon they all rode — ^the Queen and the Duchess and the two Princes, with Lord Melbourne and most of the ladies and gentlemen in attendance, forming a large cavalcade. There was a great dinner in the evening, with a dance after it three times a week." The Queen now put off the monarch, and was the woman alone. She danced with Prince Albert, and showed him many attentions which 124 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. she could never- show to others. '^At one of the Castle balls, just before the Queen declared her engagement with her royal cousin to her Council, she presented His Serene Highness with her bouquet. This flattering in* dication of her favor might have involved a less quick-witted lover in an awkward dilemma, for his uniform jacket was fastened up to the chin, after the Prussian fashion, and ofFered no button-hole wherein to place the precious gift. But the Prince, in the very spirit of. Sir Walter Ral- eigh, seized a pen knife, and immediately slit an aperture in his dress next his heart, and there triumphantly deposited the royal flowers.'^ Royal courtships naturally excite curiosity, for those undistin- guished in position are eager to learn whether love is after all the "level- ler" he is represented. Her Majesty's experience proved that he is, On6 report says that the Queen endeavored to encourage her lover by asking him how he liked England, to which he responded "Very much." Next day the query was repeated, and the same answer was returned. But ou the third occasion, when the maiden-monarch, with downcast eyes and tell-tale blushes, asked ^^f he would like to live in England?" he rose to the occasion. Emboldened by the Queen's demeanor, it is stated that "on this hint he spoke" of feelings that he had treasured up in strictest secrecy since his first visit to England; having, with that sensitive deli- cacy which is the inseparable companion of true love, waited for some en- couraging token before he ventured to offer his homage to the "bright particular star" of his devotions. Another account says that Her Majesty inquired of His Serene High- ness whether his visit to this country had been agreeable to him? — whether he liked England? And on the answer being given, "Exceeding- ly," "Then," added the Queen, "it depends on you to make it your home.*' All this is very pretty and very pleasant, but as a matter of fact the Queen actually proposed to the Prince, and was necessitated to do so from the circumstances of her position. We have it on her own admis- sion that she directly made the proposal. Some days after she had done so she saw the Duchess of Gloucester in London, and told her that she was to make her declaration the next day. The Duchess asked her if it was not a nervous thing to do. She said, ^^es; but I did a much more nervous thing a little while ago." "What was that?" "I proposed to Prince Albert." The engagement was made on the 15th of October. Prince Albert had been out hunting with his brother, and returned to the Castle about noon. THE QUEEN A BRIDE. 125 Half an hour afterwards he received a summons from the Queen, and vent to her room^ finding her alone. After a few minutes^ conlrersation on other subjects, the Queen told him why she had sent for him, and the whole story of mutual love was once more quickly told. "Though as Queen," observes one writer, "she offered the Prince her coveted hand- that hand which had held the sceptre of sceptres, and which princes^ and peers and representatives of the highest powers on earth had kissed in homage — ^it was only as a poor little woman's weak hand, which needed to be upheld and guided in good works by a stronger, firmer hand; and her head, when she laid it on her chosen husband's shoulder, had not the feel ^ of the crown on it. Indeed, she seems to have felt that his love was her real coronation, his faith her consecration/' She was not long in communicating the joyful news to her dear friend, Baron Stockmar. It came with some little surprise upon him, for, shortly before, the Queen had assured him that she did not intend to change her unmarried state for a long period. And now she wrote : "I do feel so guilty I know not how to begin my letter; but I think the news it will <*ontain will be sufScient to ensure your forgiveness. Albert has com- pletely won my heart, and all was settled between us this morning. I feel certain he will make me happy. I wish I could feel aa certain of my making him happy.'' The Prince himself, writing to his affectionate grandmother ^f Ootha, said : "The Queen sent for me alone to her room the other day, and de- clared to me, in a genuine outburst of affection, that I had gained her whole heart, and would make her intensely happy if I would make her the sacrifice of sharing her life with her, for she said she looked on it as a sacrifice; the only thing which troubled her was that she did not think she was worthy of me. The joyous openness with which she told me this enchanted me, and I was quite carried away by it." Eer Majesty appears to have repeatedly dwelt on the Prince's sac- rifices. In one of the typical entries in her Journal we read : "How I will strive to make Albert feel as little as possible the great sacrifice he lias made ! I told him it was a great sacrifice on his part, but he would not allow it." Although many would have regarded the Prince as only to be envied, in one sense the Queen was quite right She was not called upon to surrender anything, while she received the love and devoted care of a good husband. He, on the other hand, left his native home to dwell amongst strangers, with whom he had yet to make his way. He expatri- d 126 ' THE QUEEN A BRIDE. ated himself from Germany and from his much-loved brother, and took upon himself a portion of the burdens of the English Sovereign, without . taMng equal rank with her In the rights and privileges of sovereignty. But the young couple were very happy. They had many tastes and sympathies in common. The Prince had considerable facility as an art- ist, and still more as a composer. The music he composed to the songs written by his brother was beyond the average in sweetness of melody, and some of his sacred compositions, notably the tune ^^Ootha," were of a high order, and found their way into the psalmodies. He also sang well and played with skill. During his stay at Windsor Castle Her Majesty frequently accompanied him on the pianoforte, and at a later period they ofteli sang together the admired productions of Rossini, Auber, Balfe, and Moora Before he left the Castle, his engagement being then known, the Prince drew a pencil portrait of himself, which he presented to the Duchess of Kent Both he and his brother were exceedingly fond of outdoor and field sports of all kinds. Of course Greville has something to say about the royal engagement, and, as is frequently the case, his remarks are not of the pleasantest character. According to his account. Her Majesty treated the Prime Minister rather slightingly. "The Queen," he says, "settled everything about her marriage herself, and without consulting Melbourne at all on the subject — not even communicating to him her intentions. The re- ports were already rife, while he was in ignorance; and at last he spoke to her : told her that he could not be ignorant of the reports, nor could she; that he did not presume to inquire what her intentions were; but that it was his duty to tell her that if she had any, it was necessary her Ministers should be apprised of them. She said she had nothing to tell him; and about a fortnight afterwards she informed him that the whole thing was settled : a curious exhibition of her independence, and explains the apprehensions which Lady Cowper has recently expressed to me of the serious consequences which her determined character is likely to pro- duce. If she has already shaken oflf her dependence on Melbc>ume, and begins to fly with her own wings, what will she not do when she is older, and has to deal with Ministers whom she does not care for, or whom she dislikes?" Now, this does not quite accurately represent what really occurred. Th^re was no soreness felt by Melbourne, who was as kind as ever when the Queen, feeling that the time had come when she could confide in him, THE QUEEN A BRIDE. 127 told him of her intentions. This she did on the 14th of October, the day before the engagement was made. She said she had made her choice, wherenpon Melbourne expressed his great satisfaction, and added (afi it is stated in the Queen's Journal) ; "I think it will be very well received, for I hear that there is an anxiety now that it should be, and I am very glad of it/' Then he said, in a paternal tone : 'Tfou will be much more comfortable, for a woman cannot stand alone for any time in whatever position she may be." The King of the Belgians took a special interest in the engagement. Before he was a[ware of its conclusion he had written to the Queen as fol- lows concerning his nephews : ^^I am sure you will like them the more the longer you see them. They are young men of merit, and without that puppy-like affectation which is so often found with young gentlemen of rank; and though remarkably well-informed, they are very free from I)edantry. Albert is a very agreeable companion. His manners are so quiet and harmonious that one likes to have him near one's self. I al- ways found him so when I had him with me, and I think his travels have stUl further improved him. He is full of talent and fun, and draws cleverly." Then comes a very direct hint in the King's letter: "I trust they will enliven your sejour in the old castle, and may Albert be able to strew roses without thorns in the pathway of life of our good Victoria. He is well qualified to do so." A letter from the Queen to the King crossed this one. **My dearest uncle," she wrote, **this letter will I am sure give you pleasure, for you have always shown and taken so warm an interest in all that concerns ma My mind is quite made up, and I told Albert this morning of it. The warm affection he showed me at learning this gave me great pleasure. He seems perfection, ^nd I think I have the prospect of very great happi- ness before me. I love him more than I can say, and shall do everything in my power to render this sacrifice (for such in my opinion it is) as small as I can. It is absolutely necessary that this determination of mine should be known to no one but yourself and uncle Ernest, until after the meeting of Parliament, as it would be considered otherwise neglect- ful on my part not to have assembled Parliament at once to inform them of it." The writer added: "Lord Melbourne has acted in this business, as he has always done towards me, with the greatest kindness and affec- tion. We also think it better — ^and Albert quite approves of it — that we 128 ///£ QUEEN A BRIDE. should be married very soon after Parliament meets, about tfie fegin- ning of February/' King Leopold sent a very affectionate reply from, Wiesbaden: "My dearest Victoria, nothing could have given me greater pleasure than your dear letter. I had, when I learnt your decision, almost the feeling of old Simeon — *Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace/ Your choice has been for these last years my conviction of what might and would be best for your happiness; and just because I was convinced of it, and knew how strangely fate often changes what one tries to bring about as being the best plan one could fix upon — ^the maximum of a good arrangement — I feared that it would not happen." We have glimpses of the royal lovers in their correspondence witli each other and with their friends and relatives. Thus, Prince Albert, writing to Baron Stockmar, remarks: ^^An individuality, a character which shall win the respect, the love, and the confidence of the Queen and of the nation, must be the groundwork of my position. If, therefore, I prove a 'noble' Prince in the true sense of the word, as you call upon me to be, wise and prudent conduct will become easier to me, and its results more rich in blessings." But his new position brought anxieties with it "With the exception of my relation to her (the Queen)," he wrote to his stepmother, "my future position will have Its dark sides, and the sky will not always be blue and unclouded. But life has its thorns in every posi- tion, and the consciousness of having used one^s powers and endeavors for an object so great as that of promoting the good of so many, will surely be sufficient to support me." The Princes Ernest and Albert remained for a month at Windsor, and we hear of a beautiful emerald serpent ring which the latter presented to his ladylove. In the bracing November weather the engaged couple were present at a review, in the Home Park, of the battalion of the Rifle Brigade quartered at Windsor. Her Majesty has thus described this interesting scene: "At ten minutes to twelve I set off in my Windsor uniform and cap, on my old charger Leopold, with my beloved Albert, looking so handsome in his uniform, on my right, and Sir John Max^don- ald, the Adjutant-General, on my left, Colonel Grey and Colonel We- myss preceding me, a guard of honor, my other gentlemen, my cousin^s gentlemen. Lady Caroline Barrington, &c., for the ground. A horrid day: cold, dreadfully blowy, and, in addition, raining hard when we had been out a few minutea It, however, ceased when we came to the ground. Eager for News of tiie British-Boer War Brery defeat, every uniuccetsful skirmiih, the lost or wounding of any brave tolditr was personal to Queen Victoria. Pbincess Victoria in 1830 (From ft Pointing made from Life.) IjObd Roberts One of the Greatest Generals of the Victorian Age, bom in Cawnpore, India, September 30, 1832; Commissioned Second Lieutenant Bengal Ar- tillery December 12. 1851; Made Lieutenant June 3, 1857; Married Nora Henrietta Bews May 17, 1859; Made CapUin November 12. 1860; Brevet Major November 13. 1860; Brevet Lieutenant Colonel. Bengal, August 15. 1888; Brevet Colonel at KuramJan. 30. 1875; Major Gen. Cabul field force, December 31. 1878; Baronet. 1881; Lieutenant General Commander in India July 26, 1883; General Commander in Ireland November 28, 1890; Created Baron. 1892; Made Field Marshal May 25. 1895; Command in Africa December 15. 1899; Commander-in-Chief September 30. 1900; Made Earl January 2. 1901. The Marquis of Salisbury -IjORD CeciIj Premier of England. , THE QUEEN A BRIDE. 133 I rode alone down the ranks^ and then took my place as nsnal^ with dear- est Alb^i} on my right, and Sir John Macdonald on my left^ and saw the troops march past They afterwards manoeuvered. The Rifles looked beautiful. It was piercingly cold, and I had my cape on, which dearest Albert settled comfortably for me. He was so cold, being en grande ten- ue, with high boots. We cantered home again, and went in to show our- selves to poor Ernest, who had seen all from a window.'' The Princes returned to the Continent on the 14th of November. Af- ter so many happy weeks the Queen felt her loneliness very much, and she spent a good deal of her time in playing over the musical compositions which she and her lover had enjoyed together. She had also another re- minder of him in the shape of a beautiful miniature, which she wore in a bracelet on her arm when she subsequently announced her intended marriage to the Privy Council. Writing to his aunt, the Duchess of Kent, the Prince observed : "What you say about my poor little bride sitting all alone in her room, silent and sad, has touched me to the heart. Oh, that I might fly tp her side to cheer her !" The Queen herself after- wards wrote : "For the *poor little bride^ there was no lack of those sweet words, touched with the grateful humility of a manly love, to receive which was a precious foretaste to her of the happiness of the years to come." The Prince wrote to his bride: "That I am the object of so much love and devotion often comes over me as something I can hardly realize. My prevailing feeling is, what am I that such happiness should be mine? For excess of happiness it is for me to know that I am so dear to you.'' And again, alluding to his grandmother's regret at the im- pending separation frpm her: "Still she hopes, what I am convinced will be the case, that I may find in you, my dear Victoria, all the happi- ness I could possibly desire. And so I shally I can truly tell her for her comfort." Yet once more, writing from "dear old Coburg," he says: "How often are my thoughts with you ! The hours I was privileged to pass with you in your dear little room are the radiant points of my life, and I cannot even yet clearly picture to myself that I am indeed to be so happy as to be always near you, always your protector." Telling the Queen that in an hour he was to take the sacrament in the church at Co- burg, he added, with mingled affection and solemnity: "God will not take it amiss if in that serious act, even at the altar, I think of you, for I win pray to Him for you and for your soul's health, and He will not re- fuse us His blessing." i. I- 134 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. The Queen had more than one trying ordeal before her. Bhe leCit Windsor with the Duchess of Kent on the 20th of November for Buck- ingham Palace, and immediately summoned a Council for the 23d. It was held in the bow-room of the palace, on the ground floor. Amongst those assembled was the venerable Duke of Wellington, respecting whom and the Sovereign an amusing anecdote had just been current It was gravely reported that in an interview with Her Majesty Lord Mdboume had represented to the Sovereign the advisability of her marriage, and had begged her to say whether there was any person for whom she enter- tained a. preference. Her Majesty deigned to acknowledge that there was one man for whom she could conceive a regard, and that was Arthur, Duke of Wellington ! If this anecdote were as true aB it is good, it bore testimony to the sly humor of the Queen. Her task before the Council was an embarrassing on^ but her cour- age, as she tells us, was inspired by the sight of the Prince's picture in her bracelet. "Precisely at two I went in," writes the Queen in her Journal. "The room was full, but I hardly knew who was there. Lord Melbourne I saw looking kindly at me with tears in his eyes^ but he was not near me. I then read my short declaration. I felt my hands shook, but I did not make one mistake. I felt most happy and thankful when it was over. Lord Lansdowne then rose, and in the name of the Privy Council asked that this most gracious and most welcome communication might be print- ed. I then left the room, the whole thing not lasting above two or three minutes. The Duke of Cambridge came into the small library where I was standing and wished me joy.'' The Queen's declaration to her Council was as follows: "I have caused you to be summoned at the present time in order that I may ac- quaint yot} with my resolution in a matter which deeply concerns the welfare of my people and the happiness of my future life. It is my inten- tion to ally myself in marriage with the Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the engagement which I am about to contract, I have not come to this decision without mature consideration, nor without feeling a strong assurance that with the blessing of Almighty God, it will at once secure my domestic felicity and serve the interests of my country., I have thought fit to make known this resolution to you at the earliest period, in order that you may be apprised of a matter so highly important to me and to my kingdom, and ^' ^ THE QUEEN A BRIDE. . , » 135 which I persuade myself, will be most acceptable to all my loving sub- jects.'' In her new found bliss as an affianced bride, and while receiving and exchanging daily warm assurances of mutual affection, the Queen did not forget her subjects, and especially those who were the most unfortu- nate of her own sex. Only on the day before she opened Parliament she sent a donation of £50 to the Manor Hall Refuge for Destitute Females released from prison, signifying at the same time, in a gracious communi* cation to Mrsw Fry — ^that noble friend of the outcast and the degraded — her intention of always supporting the above-mentioned benevolent and truly serviceable institution. Parliament was opened by the Queen in person on the 16th of Janu- ary, 1840. It had been rumored that the recent death of Her Majesty's aunt, the Landgravine of Hesse Homburg, would prevent the Queen from attending the House of Lords, but this proved not to be the case. The Queen had consulted her royal aunts, the Princess Augusta and the Duchess of Gloucester, on the subject, and they both advised her to pur- sue the course of performing her duty to the Senate. "You are, my dear, the highest public functionary," said the Princess Augusta, "and must not permit your private respect to your family to interfere with the proper discharge of your duties to your empire." In her course to the Houses of Parliament the Queen was received with fervent demonstrations of loyalty, and the knowledge of tjie happy errand she was upon lent addi- tional interest to her progress on this occasion. The marriage that was soon to be solemnized touched the people deeply for they knew it was one of affection, and not one "arranged" merely for purposes of ^tate. The first part of Her Majesty's speech, which was delivered with some amount of trepidation, was as follows: "Since you were last assem- bled I have declared my intention of allying myself in marriage with the Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. I humbly implore that the Divine blessing may prosper this union, and render it conducive to the interests of my people, as well as to my own domestic happiness; and it will be to me a source of the most lively satisfaction to find the resolution I have taken approved by my Parliament. The constant proofs which I have received of your attachment to my person and family, persuade me that you will enable me to provide for such an establishment as may appear suitable to the rank of the Prince and the dignity of the Crown." A bill for the naturalization of Prince Albert was at (mce passed 136 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. through both Houses, and the Queen subsequently conferred upon her future husband the title of ^^His Boyal Highness," as well aa the rank of a Field Marshal in the British army. The question of the Prince's annuity created a good deal of discussion in the House of Commons on .the 27th of January. Lord John Bussell proposed an annual sum of £50,000, but this was opposed by Mr. Joseph Hume on the ground of economy. He sought to reduce the amount to £21,000, and caused much laughter by a remark to the effect that ^^the noble lord must know the danger of setting a young man down in London with so much money in his pocket" The amendment waa negatived by 305 to thirty-eight; but another amendment, proposed by Colonel Sibthorp, reducing the sum to £30,000, was carried by 262 to 158. A curious rumor had got afloat that Her Majesty had incurred debts beyond the amount of her allowance; and the Government was aaked if such were the fact, and also whether Parliament was to be called upon to contribute towards the expenses of the approaching royal nuptials. Lord John Bussell stated that both reports were entirely unfounded. With regard to the pecuniary position of Prince Albert, it may be stated, on a Coburg au- thority, that when he attained his majority he was put in possession of the property bequeathed to him by his mother, which produced a reve- nue of 28,000 florins (about £2,400) per annum. When it waa decided that he should leave the country to marry Queen Victoria, the Prince granted certain pensions to persons attached to his household, and then transferred the estate to his elder brother. The royal marriage waa fixed for the 10th of February, and on the afternoon of the 8th Prince Albert arrived at Buckingham Palace, ac- companied by his father and elder brother. The Prince brought as a wedding gift to his bride a beautiful sapphire and diamond brooch; and Her Majesty in return presented the Prince with the Star and Badge of the Garter, and the Garter itself, set in diamonds. The Queen had been exceedingly gratified by the high tributes paid to the personal char- acter of Prince Albert by men of all parties. Sir Bobert Peel, the leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, had especially spoken in generous terms, and felicitated the Sovereign and the country upon the forthcoming auspicious union. The question of the precedence of Prince Albert, however, caused a great deal of difficulty, and much annoyance to the Queen. Qreville has told the inner and secret history of the struggle. Writing in his diary THE QUEEN A BRIDE. • 137 under the date of February 4th, he says : "On Friday the Cabinet agreed to give up the precedence over the Princie of Wales; but to a question of Brougham's, the Lord Chancellor said he had no other concession to offer. It was then agreed that the discussion should be taken on Monday. On Saturday, Clarendon spoke to Melbourne himself, and urged him to consider seriously the inconvenience of a battle on this point, and pre- vailed upon him to go to the Duke of Wellington and talk it over with him. He wrote to the Duke, who immediately agreed to receive him. Then he went to Apsley House, and they had an hour's conversation. Melbourne found him with one of his very stiffest crotchets in his liead, determined only to give the Prince precedence after the royal family, and aJl he could get from him was that it would be unjust to do more^ .Ul argument was unavailing, and he left him on Saturday evening with- out having been able to make any impression on him, or to move him by a representation of the Queen's feelings to make concessions to meet those the Government were prepared to make; for the Queen would have been content to accept precedence for her life, and saving the rights of the Prince of Wales. This, however, they would not consent to; and so determined were they to carry their point, that they made a grand whip up, and brought Lord Clarendon all the way from Orimsthorpe to vote upon it. Under these circumstances the Gtovernment resolved to with- draw the clause, and they did so, thus leaving the Prince without any specific place assigned by Parliament, and it remains with the Queen to do what she can for him, or for courtesy, tacit consent, and deference for her Consort, to give him the precedence virtually which the House of Lords refuses to bestow formally. ^1 think the Duke of Wellington has acted strangely in this matter, and the Conservatives generally very unwisely. Volentibus non fit in- juria, and the Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge, who alone were con- cerned, had consented to the Princess precedence. The Eang of Hanover, H seems, was never applied to, because they knew he would have refused; and they did not deem his consent necessary. There is no great sympathy for the lucky Coburgs in this country, but there is still less for King Ernest^ and it will have all the effect of being a slight to the Queen out of a desire to gratify him. There certainly was not room for much more dislike in her mind of the Tories; but it was useless to give the Prince so ungracious and uncordial a reception, and to render him as inimical to tliem as she already ia As an abstract question, I think his prece- M I'' 138 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. dence^unnecesBary; but under all the circumstances it would have been expedient and not unjust to grant it" The precedence controversy became so warm that Greville looked up the authorities and the ancient practice on the subject. He came to the conclusion that the Queen had power to grant the Prince precedence everywhere but in Parliament and in Council, and on the whole he con- sidered that her husha/nd ought to have precedence. He accordingly wrote a pamphlet on the subject, which was very favorably regarded by the Queen. In the end the Queen settled the precedence problem, so far as England was concerned, by declaring it to be her royal will and pleas- ure, under her sign-manual, that her husband should enjoy place, pre-emi- nence, and precedence next to Her Majesty. Sunday, the 9th of February, Prince Albert spent in paying visits to the various members of the Boyal Family, remaining for some time with the Queen Dowager and the Princess Augusta* His frank and manly bearing impressed all the Queen's relatives in his favor. So deeply did his religion enter into everything, tingeing aU with seriousness, though not with gloom, that only a very short time before the wedding ceremony he wrote to the venerable Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, who had enacted the part of a second mother to him, as follows: ^^In less than three hours I shall stand at the altar with my dear bride. In these sol- emn moments I must once more ask your blessing, which I am well as- sured I shall receive, and which will be my safeguard and future joy. I must end. God help me^ or rather God be my stay!'' He could not, even in the prospect of so much happiness with his wife, lose sight of the fact that as a stranger in the land he would have much to live down, and would have as it were to make a position for himself in the affections of the English people. An anecdote of a different but interesting kind is told of the Queen and her approaching wedding. It is said that the Archbishop of Canter- hury waited upon Her Majesty, and inquired if it were her wish that any alteration should be made in that portion of the Service appointed in the Liturgy for the solemnization of matrimony which included the promise of "obedience" — ^a curious promise for the Sovereign of Great Britain to make to her newly naturalized subject Prince Albert, who had just taken the oath to her as his liege lady. The Queen, according to the report, replied that "it was her wish to be married in all req[)ects like any other womui, according to the revered usages of the Church of THE QUEEN A BRIDE. 139 Englaad, and that, though not as a queen, as a wOman she was ready to promise all things contained in that portion of the Liturgy." Many were thq ejaculations of "God Mess her!" which went up from the citizens of London on the morning o{ the lOth of February as they thought of the roydl bride. The wedding ceremony was one of unusual interest, for more than a century had elapsed since the nuptials of a reigning Queen of England had been celebrated^ besides which the y;outh and grace of Victoria had touched all loyal hearts. At an early hour a dense throng of persons assembled in front of Buckingham Palace, from whence the procession was to set out for St Ja^nes^ where the mar- riage was to be solemnized. At a quarter before twelve the bridegroom's procession issued forth, consisting of Prince Albert, his father, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Ootha, his brother Prince Ernest, and their suites. At ten minutes past twelve the signal was given for the departure of the Queen. Accompanied by the Duchess of Kent, and attended by the Duchess of Sutherland, Her Majesty seated herself in her full-dress car- riage. For the benefit of lady readers it may be stated that the Queen wore on her head a wreath of orange blossoms and a veil of Honiton lace, with a necklace and earrings of diamonds. Her dress was of white satin, with a very deep trimming of Honiton lace, in design similar to that of the veU. The body and sleeves were richly trimmed with the same material, to correspond* The train, which was of white satin, was trimmed with orange blossoms. The cost of the lace alone on the Queen's dress was £1,000. The satin was manufactured in Spitalfields, and the lace at a village near Honiton. More than two hundred persons were employed upon the latter for a period of eight months, and as the lace trade of Honiton had seriously declined, all these persons would have been des- titute during the winter had it not been for the Queen's express order that the lace should be manufactured by them. As Her Majesty entered her carriage she was extremely pale and agitated, but the cheers of the people quickened her spirits, and brought the blush to her cheeks and the smiles to her eyes. She bowed repeatedly in response to the joyous acclamations which greeted her on every side as the carriage moved off. All the way to St James' Palace nothing wa& to be heard but enthusiastic cheering, and nothing to be seen but the waving of brides? favors and snow-white handkerchiefs. At 8t James', the colonnade through which the procession passed to the chapd was excellently arranged and fitted up, rows of specta- 140 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. . tors, being accommodated on each side A host of celebrities, and of young and fashionable women, assembled there as early as ten o'clock. Smiles were exchanged as the band marched into the court, playing the appropriate air, "Haste to the wedding." Many of the grand function- aries of State, and favored persons invited to view the nuptial ceremony, passed through the colonnade to the Chapel Royal. The first arrival of interest was the Duke of Sutherland, escorting his two beautiful daugh- ters, the Ladies Elizabeth and Evelyn Leveson Qower, to their seats in the , chapel. They were said to be the prettiest girls there, and were elegantly dressed in trains of the palest pink, trimmed all round with blush roses. The Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury next gravely passed by, followed by the Duke of Somerset and his handsome Duchess. Then came the Duke of Devonshire, the Earl of Carlisle and one of his many beautiful daughters; the Duke of Wellington in his uniform as a Field Marshal, and with his truncheon; and the Marquis of Anglesey in Ms splendid uniform as colonel of the 7th Hussars, covered with Orders^ and wearing conspicuous bridal favors. The hero of Waterloo, who looked infirm, and did not move with his usual alacrity, was the only individual the spectators stood up to honor and to cheer. He bowed with great dignity in return, but appeared to be sinking under the weight of his years and his honors. The Baroness Lehzen, the Queen's governess and friend, attracted considerable attention. She was a lady with dark eyes and hair, and a complexion white as marble, which appeared all the whiter by contrast with her black velvet Spanish hat, which was surmounted by a white plume. Her countenance exhibited great energy and talent At twenty minutes past twelve a flourish of trumpets and drums gave notice of the approach of the royal bridegroom, and shortly afterwards the band played the triumphant strains of "See the conquering hero comes r' The prince wore a Field Marshal's uniform with the star and ribbon of the Garter, and the bridal favors on his shoulders heightened his picturesque appearance. One who stood near him thus made notes of his person : "Prince Albert is most prepossessing. His features are regular; his hair pale auburn, of silken glossy quality; eyebrows well defined and thickly set; eyes blue and lively; nosewell proportioned, hand- some mouth, teeth perfectly beautiful, small mustachios, and downy complexion. He greatly resembles the Queen, save that he is of a lighter complexion; still, he looks as though neither care nor sorrow had ever Sib John A. Macdonald The Great Canadian Statesman of the Victorian Era. Ai-FRED Texnyson— The Victorian Poet THE QUEEN A BRIDE. 143 rnffled or cast a cloud over his placid and reflective brow. There is an unmistakable air of refinement and rectitude about him, and every year will add intellectual and manly beauty to his very interesting face and form." Ck>ntemporary accounts state that as the Prince move^ along he was greeted with loud clapping of hands from the men, and enthusiastic waving of handkerchiefs from the assembled ladies. In his hand he carried a Bible bound in green velvet Over his shoulders was hung the coUar of the Garter surmounted by two white rosettea On his left knee was the Oarter itself, which was of the most, costly workmanship, and literally covered with diamonds. He had suffered much from sea- sickness in coming over from Germany, but the effects of this had passed away, and his graceful and engaging manners and pensive liooks won golden opinions from the fair spectators. The Princess father and brother also received a cordial welcome^ with which they were apparently much pleased. When the bridegroom's procession reached the chapel, the drums and trumpets filed off without the door, and the proce^ion advancing, His Boyal Highness was conducted to the seat provided for him on the left hand of the altar. Here he was engaged for some time in conversation with the Queen Dowager. At half-past twelve the drums and trumpets sounded the National Anthem as a prelude to the arrival of the bride. Every person rose as the doors were again opened, and the royal procession came in with sol- emn steps and slow. The coup d^oeil was now magnificent, as floods of sunshine streamed through the windows upon the many gorgeous cos- tumes in which the royal and distinguished persons who appeared in the procession were attired. The Princesses attracted much attention. First came the Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester, still very beauti- ful, and dressed in lily-white satin ; then the Princess Augusta of Cam- bridge, in pale blue, with blush roses round her train; next the Duchess of Cambridge, in white velvet, leading by the hand the lovely little Princess Mary, who was dressed in white satin and swansdown, the mother all animation and smiles at the applause which greeted her child; and lastly the Duchess of Kent, regal in stature and dignity, and dressed in white and silver with blue velvet train. The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex succeeded, the latter ^^ooking blithe and full of merry conceits.'' One account says that the Duchess of Kent appeared somewhat L 144 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. disconsolate and distressed^ and that there were traces of tears upon her countenance. Immediately after Lord Melbourne, who carried the sword of State, came the Queen herself, the central figure, and one of universal interest. She wore a chaplet of orange-blossoms on her head, and her bridal veil was fastened to the back of her head with a small brilliant pin. She had round her neck the collar of the Garter, but wore no other ornaments or jewels. She looked anxious and excited, and with difficulty restrained her agitated feelings. Her Majesty's train was borne by twelve unmar- ried ladies, the daughters of well-known peers. These noble demoiselles were the Ladies Adelaide Paget^ Sarah Prederica Caroline Villiers, Frances Elizabeth Cowper, Elizabeth West, Mary Augusta Prederica Qrimston, Eleanora Caroline Paget, Caroline Amelia Gordon Lennox, Elizabeth Anne Georgiana Dorothea Howard, Ida Hay, Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope, Jane Harriet Bouverie and Mary Charlotte How- ard. The bridesmaids, like their royal mistress, were attired in white. Their dresses were composed of delicate net^ trimmed with festoons of white roses over slips of rich gros de Naples, with garlands of white roses over the head. The Duchess of Sutherland walked next to the Queen, and the ladies of the bedchamber and the maids of honor closed the bride's procession. The Chapel Royal was specially prepared and decorated for the cere- mony. The altar and haut pas had a splendid appearance, the whole being lined with crimson velvet. The wall above the communion-table was hung with rich festoons of crimson velvet edged with gold lace. The Gothic pillars supporting the galleries were gilt, as were the moldings of the oaken panels, and the Gothic railing round the communion- table. The communion-table itself was covered with a rich pro- fusion of gold plate. On one side was a stool for the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, and on the other one for the Bishop of London. On the left-hand side of the altar, and on the haut pas, were four stools, with footstools to match, for the Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge, the Princess Augusta and the Duchess of Gloucester; while on the opposite side were six stools of a like description for the Duchess of Cambridge, the two Princesses of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Prince Ernest and the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg- Gotha, the brother and father of the bridegroom. To the left side of the altar, and in firont of the four stools, first described, were two State THE QUEEN A BRIDE. 145 chairs — that next the railing bf the altar for Her Majesty, and that nearer to the aisle for the Dnchess of Kent On the opposite' side were also two State chairs — that next the railing for Prince Albert, and that nearer the aisle for the Dowager 'Queen Adelaide. Close to the railing of the altar were two faldstools for Her Majesty and Prince Albert, to be nsed dnifing the ceremony. The entire floor was covered with a blue-and-gold pattern carpet, with the Norman rose. The whole of the remaining part of the interior was decorated; and the ceiling, which is adorned with the arms of Great Britain in various colored devices and compartments, pre- sented a very tasteful appearance, having been completely renewed. The royal and illustrious personages having all taken their places in the chapel, after the lapse of a few minutes Her Majesty rose, and with the Prince advanced to the steps of the altar. The Archbishop of Can- terbury then began the service with impressive solemnity, the Bishop of London making the responses. All eyes were now fixed upon the Queen. Preparatory to the commencement of the holy rite. Her Maj- esty bowed her head upon her hand, and remained for some moments in silent prayer. When she had concluded her devotions, the Archbishop began the exhortation in the ustial words. The entire service was pre- cisely that of the Church liturgy, the simple names of "Albert" and *^ic- toria" being used. To the usual questions Prince Albert answered firmly "I will." The corresponding inquiries were then addressed to Her Majesty, '^Victoria, wilt thou have Albert to be thy wedded husband, to live together after God^s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him and serve him, love, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall liver The Queen — in accents which, though full of softness and music, were audible at the most extreme comer of the chapel — replied,"! will ;" and in fK> responding, she "accompanied the expression with a glance at His Royal Highness, which convinced all who beheld it that the heart was with her words." When the Archbishop inquired, **Who giveth this woman to be mar- ried to this man?" the Duke of Sussex advanced, and holding the Queen's hand, said, "I do." The Archbishop then took Her Majesty's hand, and placed it in that of Prince Albert, whereupon the usual forms of trothing faith were ^one through. Both bride and bridegroom spoke 146 THE QUEEN A BRIDE, in a tone of voice and with a clearness of enunciation which are seldom witnessed on similar occasions in the humbler walks of life. One who was present at the ceremony has observed that Her Majesty's expression of the words ^^ove, cherish and obey," and the confiding look with which they were accompanied were inimitably chaste and beautiful. Prince Albert then took the wedding-ring, which was quite plain, off his own finger and gave it to the Archbishop. His Orace handed it back to the Prince, who then placed it, aa directed, on his wife^s finger. At this moment the Earl of Uxbridge gave the signal, and the cannon fired the royal salute^ which was answered by the Tower artillery firing alter- nately with the Park guns, while all the bells in London and Westmins- ter rang out a joyous peal of congratulation. Every citizen in the metropolis knew at the same moment that his beloved sovereign had become a wedded wife. Returning to the scene of the chapel; the remaining portions of the ceremony were impressively read by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Up- on the conclusion of the service, the Queen shook hands cordially with the various members of the royal family, who now took up their positions in the procession as arranged for the return. The Duke of Sussex, after shaking the royal bride by the hand with great warmth, affectionately kissed her cheek. Her Majesty then crossed over to the other side of the altar, where the Queen Dowager was standing, and the two illustrious ladies embraced with evident and unaffected cordiality. Prince Albert next kissed the hand of Queen Adelaide, and acknowledged her congratu- lations. The procession, being formed, left the chapel much in the same order as it had entered. But Her Majesty end her newly wedded Consort now walked together hand-in-hand, ungloved — Prince Albert with sparkling eyes and a heightened color smiling down upon the Queen, and she appearing very bright and animated. When the Queen and her husband passed through the corridor, after leaving the chapel, the clapping of hands and waving of handkerchiefs were renewed again and again, until they had vanished out of sight. Whether by accident or design. Prince Albert enclosed Her Majesty's hand in his own in such a way as to display the wedding-ring, which appeared more solid than is usual in ordinary weddings. The various royal ladies in the procession were warmly cheered, but an ovation more prolonged and enthusiastic than any other given during the whole day, THE QUEEN A BRIDE. . 147 was reflenred for the Duke of Wellington bb he left the chapel. The Duke was not part of the royal procession, and it had passed to some distance before he made his appearance. But no sooner had the veteran savior of his country arrived in the center of the colonnade, than the whole company rose spontaneously, and, without signal of any kind, gave him three hearty cheers. The Duke was visibly touched by this greeting. The procession passed on to the State apartments, but the Queen and Prince Albert, with their royal relatives and the principal Ministers of State and members of the Privy Council proceeded to the throne-room, where they were joined by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishop of London. The attestation of the marriage now took place upon a splendid table prepared for the purpose: Her Majesty and Prince Albert signed the marriage register, and it may here be mentioned that the naine of the Queen is Alexandrina Victoria Ouelph, while that of the Prince Consort was Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emanuel Busici. The marriage was attested by the Duke of Sussex and twenty-nine other persons. The attestation book, which is bound in rich purple velvet, is a speaking memento of royal nuptial ceremonies for many generations past It is in the custody of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Amongst the witnesses who signed at the Queen's marriage was the Duke of Wel- lington, and it is an interesting fact that his signature also appeared at the attestation of her birth. When all was concluded within St. James', the procession for Buck- ingham Palace was reformed in almost the same order as when it set out in the morning. Prince Albert now took his place in the same carriage with Her Majesty, while the Duchess of Sutherland took her place in another carriage with the Earl of Albemarle, who on this occasion alone waived his official right to be in the same carriage with Her Majesty. In the royal carriage the Queen occupied the place of honor, and Prince Albert and the Duchess of Kent sat opposite. Her Majesty's faithful subjects were so desirous of seeing her, and were so eager in their demon- strations of loyalty, that she put down the closed windows of the car- riage, and bowed, with much sweetness upon her smiling features, on the right hand and on the left. The wedding-breakfast was given at Buckingham Palace, the guests including the various members of the royal family, the officers of the household, the ministers of state, and the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London. The wedding-cake, which was admirably 148 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. defifgnedy was a great object of attraction. It waA more than nine feet in circumference by sixteen inches deep. Its weight was three hundred pounds, and the materials of which it was composed cost one hundred guineasw On the top of the cake was the figure of Britannia in the act of blessing the illustrious bride and bridegroom. The figures were nearly a foot in height, and by the feet of the Prince was the effigy of a dog, intended to represent fidelity, while at the feet of the Queen were two tur- tle-doves, denoting the felicities of the marriage state. A Cupid, beauti- fully modeled, was writing in a volume expanded on his knees the date of the day of the marriage, and various other Cupids were disporting them- selves after the manner of Cupids. There were numerous bouquets of white flowers^ tied with true-lovers^ knots of white satin ribbon, on the top of the cake; and these were intended for presents to the guests at the nuptial breakfast There were large medallions upon shields bearing the letters "V." and "A.," an4 supported by Cupids on pedestals, while all round and over the cake were wreaths and festoons of orange-blossom and myrtle, entwined with roses. Another matter of interest to the fair sex is that each of the royal bridesmaids received a magnificent brooch, the gift of Her Majesty. This brooch was in the shape of a bird, the body being formed entirely of tur- quoises; the eyes were rubies and the beak a diamond; the claws were of pure gold, and rested on pearls of great size and value. The whole work- manship was very exquisite, and the design was furnished by the Queen. Shortly before four o'clock the royal party left Buckingham Palace for Windsor amid the acclamations of a vast multitude. The first car- riage contained the Queen and Prince Albert, the second Prince Ernest of Saxe-Coburg and three others the members of the royal suite. Just as the procession left the palace the sun shone forth brilliantly upon the newly married pair, an emblem, it was universally hoped, of their future happiness. Prince Albert was very simply attired in a plain dark travel- ing dress, and the Queen appeared in a white satin pelisse, trimmed with swansdown, with a white satin bonnet and feather. On the road to Windsor the principal houses in the villages were illuminated, and crowds came forth to testify their loyal delight on the happy occasion. Eton College presented one of the finest spectacles on the route. Opposite to the college was a representation of the Parthenon at Athens, which was brilliantly illuminated by several thousand varie- gated lamps; it was surmounted by flags and baimers> and under the THE QUEEN A BRIDE. '• ' 149 1^ royal arms was dii^played the following motto: ^^Gratulatus Etona Vic^ toriae et Alberto/^ Beneath the clock-tower of the college therie was a blaze of light, and a number of appropriate devices were displayed in various colored lamps. A triumphal arch, composed of evergreens and lamps tastefully displayed, extended across the road. The Etonians, wearing white favors, were marshaled in front of the college. They received the Queen with loud acclamations, and escorted her to the Castle gates. By the time Windsor was reached the shades of evening had gathered. The whole town could be perceived therefore brilliantly illuminated before the royal carriage entered it. A splendid effect was created by the dazzling lights as they played upon the faces of the multitude. The crowd on the Castle-hill was so dense at half-past six that it was with the utmost difficulty a line was kept clear for the royal carriages. The whole street was one living mass, whilst the walls of the houses glowed with crowns, stars and all the brilliant devices which gas and oil could supply. - At this moment a flight of rockets was visible in the air, and it was imme- diately concluded that the Queen had entered Eton. The bells now rang merrily, and the shouts of the spectators were heard as the royal cortege approached the Castle. At twenty minutes before seven the royal carriage arrived in the High street, Windsor, preceded by the advanced guard of the traveling escort. The shouts were now most loud and continuous, and from the windows and balconies of the houses handkerchiefs were waved by the ladies, whilst the gentlemen huzzaed and waved their hats. The carriage, owing to the crowd, proceeded slowly, the Queen and her royal Consort bowing to the people. Her Majesty looked remarkably well, and Prince Albert seemed in the highest spirits at the cordiality with which he was greeted. When the carriage drew up at the grand entrance the Queen was handed from it by the Prince; she immediately took his arm and entered the Castle. To the royal dinner party which followed only Lady Sandwich, the Lady-in-Waiting, the maids of honor, the Hon. Misses Cocks and Cavendish, Lord Torrington, Major Eeppel and Mr. Seymour, the groom and equerry in waiting, had the honor of being invited. A splendid state banquet in celebration of the royal wedding was given at St. James' Palace in the grand banqueting-room. The Duchess of E[ent, who was the only royal personage present, did the honors of the occasion, hein^ supported on her right by the Earl of Enroll, and on 150 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. her left by the Earl of Albemarle. Upwards of a hundred distinguished persons received invitations, and all attended in court dresses, the mem- b^ of the orders of knighthood wearing their respective insignia. The Queen Dowager gave a banquet at Marlborough House, at which several members of the royal family were present; and dinners were given by Viscount Melbourne, Lord John Bussell, Lord Palmerston and other members of the Cabinet. The theaters were thrown open free, and at every house the National Anthem was sung with rapturous enthusiasm. The gaieties in London and several of the provincial towns were kept up for some daya The Dowager Lady Lyttelton, who was an eye-witness of the marriage, and who was thrown much into the company of the Sovereign as a lady of the bedchamber, and subsequently as governess to the royal children, wrote at a later date respecting the wedding : ^^The Queen's look and manner were very pleasing, her eyes much swollen with tears, but great happiness in her countenance, and her look of confidence and comfort at the Prince when they walked away as man and wife was very pleasing to see. I understand she is in extremely high spirits since; such a new thing to her to dare to be unguarded in conversation with anybody, and, with her frank and fearless nature, the restraints she had hitherto been under from one reason or another with everybody must have been most painful.^' For one day only, the 11th of February, were the Queen and Prince alone together at Windsor, and on that day Her Majesty wrote to Baron Stockmar, "There cannot exist a dearer, purer, nobler being in the world than the Prince." On the 12th the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of Coburg, the hereditary Prince, and the whole court joined the happy couple, who would doubtless have been glad if the exigencies of state could have been relaxed a little more. After two more brief days the court returned to London, for royalty was not able to indulge in a honeymoon as ordinary folk. On the 18th the Queen held a court at Buckingham Palace for the reception of congratulatory addresses from the Houses of Parlia- ment Subsequently she received addresses from the London clergy, the Corporation of London, the University of Cambridge, the Society of Friends and the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Duke of Wellington also headed a deputation from Oxford, and read a complimentary address to Her Majesty; and several hundred students of the University were present in academic costume. On the 26th of THE QUEEN A BRIDE. ' ' 151 February the Queen and Flrince Albert yisited Drury Lane Theater in state, receiving a most enthusiastic welcome, ajid we read afterwards of visits to the hitnting-fleld, to the Eoyal Academy and other sources of outdoor and intellectual enjoyment Further honors were conferred upon the Prince. He was made a Knight Grand Gross of the Order of the Bath and appointed Golonel of the Eleventh Begiment of Light Dragoons, which was now armed, clothed and equipped as Hussars, and called "Prince Albert^s Own Hussars." The Duke of Goburg left England on the 28th of February on his return to Germany. Prince Albert's sorrow at parting with his father was very great, for it now meant permanent separation. The Queen, writing in her Journal, remarks concerning Prince Albert's fedings at this time : ^^He said to me that I had never known a father, and could not therefore feel what he did. His childhood had been very happy. Ernest, he said, was now the only one remaining here of all his eariiest ties and recollections; but if I continued to love him as I did now, I could make up for aU. * ♦ ♦ Oh! how I did feel for my dearest, precious husband at this moment! Father, brother, friends, country,, all h^s he left, and all for me. God grant that I may be the happy person, the most happy person to make this dearest, blessed being happy and contented. ^Vhat is in my power to make him happy I will do." Another severe trial for the Prince occurred some weeks later, when he said adieu to his brother Ernest. ^^They bade farewell, German student fashion, singing together the i>arting song, ^Ahschied.^ ^^ The brothers embraced each other affectionately, ^^poor Albert being pale as a sheet, ajid his eyes full of tears." The Queen was absolutely obliged for her own comfort, as well as to estal>lish the rights of her husband, to issue letters patent conferring on him precedence next to herself. All kinds of objections and disputes would have arisen but for this step, ajid some indeed did so before the issue of the patent As to the general conduct of the Prince, it was most wise and unexceptionable. He sank himself in order to smooth the course of the Queen, but was always ready with his counsel and advice. As the Prince himself subsequently expressed it, he resolved "to sink his own individual existence in that of his wife, to aim at no power, by himself or for himself, to shun all ostentation, to assume no separate responsibility befwe the public; continually and anxiously to watch every part of the public business in order to be able to advise and assist her at any moment, 152 THE QUEEN A BRIDE. ^ in any of the multifarious and difficult questions brought before her — sometimes political or social or personal — bb the natural head of the family, superintendent of her hou^hold, manager of her private affairs, her sole confidential adviser in politics and only assistant in her com- munications with the affairs of the Government." Again, writing to his father he said, ^'I endeavor quietly to be of as much use to Victoria in her position as I can." , How well and judiciously on the whole the Prince fulfilled his func- tions as the Queen's adviser, history has already borne testimony. If he sometimes made mistakes, he certainly made fewer than might have been expected from one in his difficult position. But his unquestioned integrity, his sincerity, honesty and high principle stood him in good stead; and they were a sheet-anchor upon which the Queen could always rely. Neither Her Majesty nor her husband expected to find life easy in their exalted station ; but as both were in deep sympathy with each other, and as love, trustful and unfeigned, was the moving spring of both, difficulties were overcome instead of becoming themselves insurmountable. If ever it could be said of any marriage the Queen's was a marriage of profound happiness and mutual trust, for it was a real union of souls. CHAPTER V. THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. Tlw Pofttal System of the United Kingdom— Need of ImproTements— Sir Rowland Hill and tiie Penny Post— Opposition to His Plans— Measnres for the Proteetion of Child Chim- ney Sweeps— Attempt of Edward Oxford to Shoot the <(aeen— The Prince Consort At- tains His MiO<>i^ty— Birth of the Princess Boyal— Accident to Prince Albert— Sir Robert Peel Becomes Prime Minister— Birth and Christening of the Prince of Wales. A FEW weeks before the royal marriage took place, a social and administratiye reform was begun in Great Britain which pos- sessed a deep interest for both the Queen and Prince Albert. Fop many years the postage system of the country had been in a state wholly inadequate to the requirements of modern civilization. When a regular postoffice was established in the reign of Charles I. (all commnnication until then being occasional and precarious) , the number of persons who could read and write was small, and the needs of the public were proportionately trivial. But in the middle of the nineteenth century it was imperative that the transmission of letters should be cheap, rapid and facile. Facile and cheap it certainly was not, and before the full elaboration of the railway system there could be no rapidity in the modern sense of the term. Education was spreading; yet, to relatives and friends divided by a few miles, the expense of a letter was so great that, in many instances, people forbore from writing altogether, or resorted to a number of curious and dishonest tricks for sending and obtaining some sort of intelligence without paying for it. The objections to the postal system were many and glaring. It was needlessly onerous; it encouraged fraud; it hindered the natural inter- communication of the x>oor; it was uncertain in its operations, and it included a great deal of offensive spying. Still, owing to the force of habit, it survived years of obloquy, until a genius arose capable of organ- izing a better method. Mr. Rowland Hill (subsequently Sir Rowland), Secretary to the South Australian Commission, published early in 1837 a pamphlet on **Postoffice Reform : Its Importance and Practicability." He had observed that the number of letters passing through the post bore a ridiculously small proportion to the number of the population. His mathematical 153 154 THE Labors of a monarch. mind induced hin^ to make calculations as to the cost of conveyance, and he found that the expense of transit on each individual letter between London and Edinburg — a distance of four hundred milesr— was not more than the thirty-sixth part of a penny. Indeed, the cost was but little enhanced by the distance; and Mr. Hill therefore came to the conclusion that if the rates of postage were reduced to the lowest, if the dispatch of letters wer6 made more frequent, and the speed of conveyance were increased, the revenue would gain instead of lose, to say nothing of the social boon. Starting from his well-ascertained datum that thirty-six letters could be carried from London to Edinburg at a cost of a penny, Mr. Hill strongly urged the desirability of adopting a uniform rate of postage within the limits of the United Kingdom. That this rate should not be more tlian a penny followed naturally from the proved facts of the case and from the obvious justice of giving the public the advantage of a cheapness which would actually benefit instead of injuring the revenue. Nevertheless, the opposition encountered proved very serious and harass- ing. All the persons engaged in the old system were pledged to resist the new; and it appears to have been really thought that a penny post would entail such difficulties in its organization as to be practically impossible. The Postmaster General, Lord Litchfield, declared in the House of Lords that the proposed scheme was the wildest and most extrav- agant he had ever known. In the opinion of this official and several others the necessary expenses would be absolutely overwhelming, while, owing to the immeasurable increase of correspondence, no building would be large enough to receive the clerks and the letters. This very argument, however, clearly implied that there was a public want which the existing system did not supply. Some persons, from whom a greater liberality might have been expected, were as antagonistic to the scheme as if they had been postoflhre officials The Eev. Sydney Smith, who had been a reformer in his earlier days, but who was now getting old, sjwke of the plan as "nonsensical,^' and as needlessly entailing a loss of a million to the revenue. Rowland Hill, however, was not a man to be deterred by any.amount of difficulty. He had convinced himself, and ultimately he convinced oth^ns, that let- ters might be sent to any part of Great Britain and Ireland for the sum of one penny, and that yet there would be a profit of 200 per cent The uniformity of charge would in itself save a large amount of time and L THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. 155 I trouble; and if the po&tage could be paid in advance there would be a still further gain in general conveniencie. The idea of a penny letter- stamp was suggested to Mr. Hill by a proposal put forth some years before by Mr. Charles Knight, the eminent author and publisher, who thought that the best way of collecting a penny postage on newspapers would be by the use of stamped covers. This plan was ultimately adopted for letters, and people of the present day, if they think at all upon the subject, are astonished how the preceding generation could have gone on from year to year without a method at once so cheap, so simple and so admirably adapted to the necessities of the case. Franking was abolished with the introduction of the new method, and although the Queen was still entitled to this privilege she immediately relinquished it, with that good feeling which always distinguished Her Majesty's relations towards her people. Another social reform in which Her Majesty and Prince Albert took the deepest interest was in some degree associated with the year 1840. On August 7 an act of Parliament was passed with reference to the employment of children in the sweeping of chimneys. By the terms of this act it was made unlawful for master^sweeps to take apprentices under sixteen years of age, and no individual under twenty-one was to ascend a chimney after July 1, 1842. The law was made more stringent in 1864; but in the meanwhile it did an immense amount of good. The bar- barity of the system it supplanted was great indeed. Boys of tender years, whose ordinary treatment by their employers was of the roughest kind, were compelled, often by acts of extreme violence, to ascend chim- neys for the purpose of brushing down the soot. Cases were known in which these poor little creatures were lost and stifled in the dark, cav- ernous and winding passages which they had to thread. At the best the sufFering was great and entailed diseases of the joints^ of the eyes and of the respiratory organs. The system was wholly inexcusable, for a brush was in use which answered every purpose; but it required an act of Par- liament to enforce the protection of unfortunte children. Between the introduction of the new postal system ajid the passing of the bill for the protection of youthful sweeps^ Her Majesty was exposed to a danger and an affront which she probably never anticipated, though it was afterwards repeated several times. On June 10, 1840, the Queen was driving up Constitution Hill, in company with Prince Albert, when she was twice fired at by a potboy, seventeen years of age, named Edward 166 THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. Oxford. Her Majesty turned very pale, and, between the firing of the first and second shots, rose up in her carriage; but Prince Albert immediately pulled her down by his side. "The report of the pistol," said a witness of the occurrence, "attracted my attention, and I heard a distinct whizzing or buzzing before my eyes, between my face and the carriage. The moment he fired the pistol he turned himself round, as if to see whether any one waa behind him. He then set himself back again, drew a second pistol with his left hand from his right breast, presented it across the one he had already fired, which he had in his right hand, and fired again, taking very deliberate aim.'^ Several persons rushed upon the miscreant. The fellow was quite calm and collected, admitted having fired the pistols^ and went quietly with two of the police to the Queen Square Station. He was dis- covered to be one Edward Oxford, seventeen years of age, and recently employed as barman at a public house in Oxford street. The Queen, as might naturally be supposed, was seriously alarmed at the occurrence, but besides being extremely pale did not betray any out- ward agitation. Rising to show that she was unhurt, she ordered the postilions to drive to Ingestre House, her first thought being for her mother. The Duchess of Kent received her daughter safely before there had been time for her to be shocked by the news of the attempted assas- sination. The Queen and the Prince remained with the Duchess for a short time and then returned by way of Hyde Park. The royal pair were received with every symptom of deep satisfaction by a large gathering of ladies and gentlemen in the park, and escorted to Buckingham Palace. Large numbers of the nobility called in the evening to offer their con- gratulations. For many days after the dastardly aflfair there was an exhibition of almost unbounded loyalty. The journals of the day report that thou- sands of people continued to assemble before the palace, and hundreds of noblemen, members of the Government and private ladies and gentle- men, called to congratulate or inquire, and to present their grateful addresses on such a happy and providential deliverance. Whenever Her Majesty and the Prince drove out they were escorted by hundreds of ladies and gentlemen on horseback, who accompanied them like a body- guard; whilst the immense sympathizing crowds cheered most enthu- siastically. At first there was a surmise as to a widespread conspiracy Li THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. 157 being on foot, but this report wa^ discovered to be unfounded, though there had been some slight countenajice for it. At different theaters, and at places where public dinners were held, as soon as the news transpired on the Wednesday evening, the day of the attempt, "God Save the Queen" was sung with loyal fervor. A grand concert was being held at the Opera House for the benefit of the New Musical Fund. It was to have terminated with Mozart's overture to IdomeneOy but Sir George Smart, the conductor, stepped forward, and having informed the audience of the attempt on Her Majesty's life, pro- posed to substitute the National Anthem. His suggestion was received with great enthusiasm. On the 12th a remarkable scene of loyalty was witnessed at Bucking- ham Palace. The sheriffs of London, the Cabinet Ministers and others attended early to present addresses of congratulation; but the great event of the day was the presentation of addresses from the two Houses of Parliament. At two o'clock the state carriage of the Speaker of the House of Commons entered the court, followed by 109 carriages filled entirely with members of Parliament Never before, it is said, was the Si)eaker followed by so numerous a cortege on the occasion/ of presenting an address. As soon as the carriages of the Commons had left the court the procession of the Lords began to enter — the Barons first, and then the other peers, rising in rank to the royal Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge; the Lord Chancellor bringing up the rear. There were eighty-one car- riages in the peers' procession, which was brilliant and imposing to an extraordinary degree. Many of the Lords wore splendid uniforms and decorations of various orders; the Duke of Wellington especially was attired with much magnificence. The procession of the Commons passed with little notice from the crowd ; but on the Duke's appearance the cheer- ing was enthusiastic and universal. Tlye Dukes of Sussex and Cam- bridge also were cheered. Whilst the Lords were alighting from their carriages the grand terrace in front of the palace was crowded with dis- tinguished persons in splendid costumes. "The Queen received the address on the throne. The Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of Commons advanced side by side. The Dakes of Sussex and Cambridge walked in a line with the Lord Chan- cellor, the peers and commoners following. Prince Albert stood on the left of the throne; the great officers of state and of the household on the 168 THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. right The Lord Chancellor read the address, and the Queen was gra- ciously pleased to receive it" Similar enthusiasm was manifested all oyer the country. On the 16th and 18thv the Queen aiid Prince Albert went to Ascot races, recdving a remarkable ovation. Two days later the Queen visited the opera for the first time after the atrocious attempt on her life, and the appearance of the Sovereign here was likewise the signal for a loyal demonstration of a very striking character. The vast audience rose, the National Anthem was sung with great enthusiasm, the assembly loudly cheering at the end of each verse; Her Majesty standing all the time, and graciously acknowl- edging the congratulations of the audience. As soon as the singing of the anthem was concluded Prince Albert was called and received three hearty cheers. Her Majesty and the Prince paid a visit to Greenwich Hospital on the 27th, going down from Whitehiall in the Admiralty barges. They had lunch with the Governor, Vice-Admiral Fleming, and then walked through the difFerent halls, and inspected the dinners prepared for the veteran tars. Grace having been said, the Queen partook of the soup, bread and meat provided for the gallant inmates of the Hospital, and handed a piece of the bread to one of the ladies of her suite. The veterans were highly delighted with the affable manners of the Queen, and the kind manner in which she inquired after their welfare. Round the grand square 1,000 pensioners of all clasctes were drawn up^ while 800 school- lK>ys and the nurses and girls in the establishment took up various posi- tions assigned to them. The day was a memorable one, and the royal visitors were much struck with the excellence of the arrangements Oxford was brought to trial at the Central Criminal Court on the 8th of July. There.had been found at his lodgings, after he was searched, a quantity of powder and shot, and the rules of a secret society styled '^Young England,^' prescribing, among other things, that every member should, when ordered to meet,- be armed with pistols and a sword, and a black crape cap to cover his face. The charge against Oxford was high treason in its most exaggerated form — ^that is, a direct attempt on the life of the Queen. The Attorney-General prosecuted, and a considerable number of witnesses were examined. There was a curious nonchalance on the part of the prisoner all through, which pointed to insanity. •When Lord Uxbridge visited him in his cell, Oxford cooUy and impudently asked, ^^Is the Queen well?" to which his Lordship responded. H M I u o flu o ' /...\ Kensington Palace, London— Birthplace op Queen Victoria T>re. with large gardens and Umitrd means, Victoria learned in childhood the lesson of thrift j ecouoniy. Balmoral Castle^ Scotland queen victoria's favorite residence in the highlands. THfi LABORS OF A MONARCH. 161 "How dare you a^k such a question?" The prisoner frankly owned haT* ing fired the pistols, which he stated were well loaded. Mr. Fox Maule put in the following deposition, which the misguided youth had volun- tarily made and sigtied at the Home Office: "A great many witnesses against me. Some say that I shot with my left, others with my right hand. They vary as to the distance. After I fired the first pistol. Prince ( Albert got up as if he would jump out of the carriage, and sat down again, as if he thought better of it. Then I fired the second pistol. This is all I shall say at present. — Edwabd Oxford.^^ Witnesses were called for the defense to show that a predisposition to insanity existed in the prisoner's mind, and that it was hereditary in his family, his grandfather having died in a lunatic asylum. The prisoner himself, it was shown, had before behaved in an alarming manner. There seemed to be no doubt that Oxford was suffering from insanity, which manifested itself in a morbid desire for notoriety; and the jury found him guilty, at the same time declaring him to be insane. The prisoner, who had remained unmoved during the whole of the proceedings, was ordered to be confined during Her Majesty's pleasure. It seems^ perhaps, to have been a great hubbub created over one mis- erable, crazy youth — addresses, rejoicings, grand processions and a great state trial; but then even a small pistol and a crazy youth might have been the means of causing a great disaster, and plunging a whole nation into mourning. Little wonder, then, that it should have been plunged into universal rejoicing instead. With regard to the future of Oxford, he was confined first in Bedlam, and then in Dartmoor. He always explained his act as having been prompted by sheer vanity and desire for notoriety. After about thirty-five years' imprisonment he was released on condition that he would go to the Antipodes. Not many years ago he was earning his living as a house-painter in Australia. Towards the close of the parliamentary session of 1840 a Regency Bill was introduced. The prospect of an heir to the throne rendered it necessary to make provision for Her M^j^^^j's possible death or length- ened disqualification for reigning. Both political parties were eoqsulted in the matter, and a bill was brought forward, providing that Prince Albert should be Regent in the event of the death of Queen Victoria before her next lineal descendant and successor should have attained the fall age of eighteen years. The measure was well received, and, with the exception of a speech made by the Duke of Sussex in the House of Lords^ y - • ^ . — . '^^^— 162 THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. it passed both Houses unanimously and without objection, and became law. The Prince made his way with all classes;^ even with those Tories who had at first looked rather askance at him. He was conciliatory and judi- cious; and to show the way he had advanced in the public esteem, the remark which Melbourne made to the Queen on the Regency Bill may be quoted: ^^Three months ago they would not have done it for him; it is entirely his own character." The Duke of Wellington was so completely won oyer that he remarked: '^Let the Queen put the Prince where she likes^ and settle it herself; that is the best way." His Grace also made short work of questions of state etiquette, and when Lord Albemarle, Maater of the Horse, held out about his right to sit in the Sovereign's coach on state occasions, he said, on being asked for his opinion: ^^The Queen can make Lord Albemarle sit at the top of the coach^ under the coach, behind the coach, or wherever else Her Majesty pleases." The Queen prorogued Parliament on the 11th of August, Prince Albert ajccompanying her for the first time. Next day the court left for Windsor. On the 26th His Boyal Highness attained his majority, and the event was celebrated by a breakfast at Adelaide Lodge. The Prince went to London on the 28tii for the purjwse of receiving the freedom of the city. At this ceremony the names of six Aldermen and Common Councilmen, who undertook to vouch for the eligibility of the Prince, were read, together with the declaration upon oath. The oath was as follows: "We declare, upon the oath we took at the time of our admia-. sion to the freedom of the city, that Prince Albert is of good name and fame; that he does not desire the freedom of this city whereby to defraud the Queen or this city of any of their rights, customs or advantages; but that he will pay his scot and bear his lot: and so we all say." The Chamberlain then proposed the freeman^s oath to the Prince, and it was remarked that he was evidently moved at that part where he swore to keep the peace towards Her Majesty. Husbands do not always voluntarily swear to keep the peace towards their wives. The Cham- berlain having next addressed His Royal Highness, the Prince delivered the following answer very distinctly and audibly : "It is with the greatest pleasure that I meet you upon this occasion, and olBfer you my warmest thanks for the honor which has been conferred upon me by the inresenta- tion of the freedom of the City of London. The wealth and intelligence of this vast city have raised it to the highest eminence amongst the cities THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. 163 of the world; and it must therefore ever be esteemed a great distinctiou to be numbered amongst the members of your fmcient Corporation. I shall always remember with pride, and satisfaction the day on which I became your fellow-citizen; and ii is especially gratifying to me^ a^ mark- ing youp loyalty and affection to the Queen." Prince Albert was sworn a member of the Privy Council on the 11th of September, and it is stated that so anxious was he to discharge con- scientiously every duty whicli might devolve upon him, that in his retire- ment at Windsor he set to work to master Hallam's Constitutional His-, tory with the Queen, and also began the study of English law with a barrister. Early in November preparations were made at Buckingham Palace for the approaching accouchement of the Queen. The Court removed from Windsor to London on the 13th, and on the 21st the Princess Royal was born at Buckingham Palace at 1 :40 p. m. In the Queen's chamber were the Duchess of Kent, Prince Albert and the medical men, with Mrs. Lilly, the nurse, and some of the ladies of the bedchamber. In an adjoining apartment the door of which was open were the Duke of Sussex, the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Lord ErroU, Lord Albemarle, Lord John Buasell and other Privy Councillors, whose constitutional du^y it was to be present at the birth of an heir to the throne. At ten minutes before two Mrs. Lilly entered the ante-chamber where the Privy Council- lors were assembled, with the "young stranger'' — ^a beautiful, plump and healthy princess — ^wrapped in flannel, in her arms. Sir James Clark followed the nurse. The babe was for a moment laid ujwii the table, but the loud tones in which she indicated her displeasure at thus being made "the observed of all observers," whil^ they proved the soundness of her lungs and the maturity of her frame, rendered it advisable that she Bhonld be returned to her chamber to receive her first attire. Prince Albert received the congratulations of all present, and then the officials retired to spread the happy news throughout the metropolis. The Tower guns were fired in honor of the event. According to the gossip of the time, Prince Albert expressed a fear that the people might be disap- pointed, whereupon the Queen reassured him by saying, "Never mind; the next shall be a boy," adding that she hoped she might have as many children as her grandmother. Queen Charlotte. The Queen haa recorded the traits of tenderness shown by her husband during her seclusion* "He J. 164 THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. was content to sit by her in a darkened room, to read to ber, and write for her. No one but himself ever lifted her from her bed to her sofa, and he always helped to wheel her on her bed or sofa into the next room. For this purpose he would come instantly when sent for, from any part of the hotfse. His care for her waa like that of a mother, nor could there be a kinder, wiser, more judicious nurse.'' On the very day after the birth of the Princess Royal, "the boy Jones" — ^who seems to have had a mania for surreptitiously entering Bucking- ham Palace — ^was found concealed under a sofa in a room next to the Queen's. It was not the first time he had entered the palace, and when he was questioned as to how he had come there, he impudently replied, "The same way as before," adding that he could find his way into the palace at any time he pleased. It was believed that he scaled tiie garden wall about half way up Constitution Hill, and effected an entrance through one of the windows of the palace. On the last occasion on which he was caught, he was found about 1 a. m. crouched in a recess, witii his shoes off, by the x>olice-sergeant on duty in the interior of the palace. The rascally youth boasted that, screened by some article of furniture, he had coolly listened for some time to the conversation of the Queen and her Royal Consort Jones was taken to the Home Office, but the authori- ties scarcely knew what to do with him. Being deemed too young for serious punishment, he was committed to the House of Correction, Tothill Fields, as a rogue and vagabond for three months. He behaved remark- ably well while in prison. Some time after his release he was induced to become an apprentice for five years on board a vessel bound for Aus- tralia, where he learned discipline and became a steady seaman. The Queen speedily recovered from her accouchement, and opened Parliament in person on the 26th of January, 1841. Prince Albert, in the uniform of a Field Marshal, entered the House of Lords with the royal procession, and took his Beat on the chair of state appropriated for him on the left of the throne. The Queen's speech was not an exciting document. Happily, affairs were peaceful at home at this time, though abroad there were wars and rumors of wars. England was then pascding through one of her many difficulties with China; serious differences had arisen between Spain and Portugal on the navigation of the Douro; and affairs in the Levant were in a serious condition. England had con- cluded with Russia, Prussia, Austria and Turkey a convention intruded to effect a pacification of the Levant, to maintain the integrity and inde- . THE LABORS OF A MONARCH, 165 pendence of the Ottoman Empire^ and thereby to afford additional secur- ity for the peace of Europe. She had also just concluded treaties with the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Hayti for the suppression of the slave trade. 'An accident happened to Prince Albert on the 9th of February, which, but for the Queen's presence of mind, might have had serious conse- quencea His Royal Highness was skating in Buckingham Palace Oar- dens when the ice suddenly gave way, and he was immersed in deep water, fie had to swim for several minutes before he got out. The Queen was close by the Prince when the accident occurred, and was the only person who had sufficient presence of mind to render him any materisd assist- ance. The christening of the Princess Royal took place on the 10th, in the throne-room at Buckingham Palace. The font, new for the occasion, was very elegant in form and exquisitely finished. It was of silver gilt, elab- orately carved with the royal arms, etc. The water used for the ceremony was brought from the river Jordan. The Archbishop of Canterbury offi- ciated, with the assistance of the Bishops of London and Norwich, and the Dean of Carlisle. The Duke of Wellington appeared as sponsor on behalf of the Duke of Saxe-Cobui^ and Ootha, and the other sponsors present were the Queen Dowager, the Duchess of Oloucester, the Duchess of Kent, the Ejing of the Belgians and the Duke of Sussex* Queen Adelaide named the royal infant ^'Victoria Ade- laide Mary Louisa," Prince Albert wrote to the Dowager Duch- ess of Ootha: "The christening went ofif very well; your litUe great-granddaughter behaved with great propriety and like a Chris- tian. She was awake, but did not cry at all, and seemed to crow with immense satisfaction at the lights and brilliant uniforms, for she is very intelligent and observing. The ceremony took place at half-past six p. m. After it there was a dinner, and then we had some instrumental music. The health of the little one was drunk with great enthusia^^m.'' The ensuing summer saw the Queen and her husband entering into the pleasures of the people and sharing them with much zest. They lis- tened to the moving declamation of the great French actress, Rachel, and welcomed Adelaide Kemble, who made her first appearance in opera this season. The Queen's influence upon the stage was a healthful and restraining one. As Mrs. Oliphant has observed, she was ^4n the fore- ground of the national life, affecting it always for good, and setting ah 166 THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. example of purity and virtue. The theaters to which bhe vent, and which both she and her husband enjoyed, were purified by her presence; evils which had been the growth of years disappearing before the face of the young Queen." The Whig Ministry, having been defeated in the House of Commons by a majority of one, on a vote of want of confidence proposed by Sir Uobert Peel, determined to appeal to the country. Parliament was dis- solved accordingly, and the elections were held in July. The Conserva- tives gained a great majority, and when the new Parliament assembled in August, Ministers were placed in a minority of ninety-one in a House of 629 members. Lord Melbourne and his colleagues consequently resigned office. The Queen's parting with the Premier was a very trying one on both sides. In taking his leave of his Sovereign, Melbourne congratu- lated her on the great advantage she possessed in the presence and coun- sel of the Prince, which would have the effect of softening to her the trial of the first change of Ministers in her reign. "For four years," added Melbourne, "I have seen you every day; but it is so different from what it would have been in 1839. The Prince understands everything so well, and has a clever, able head." This tribute to her husband greatly touched the Queen, who has recorded her regret at parting with "a faithful and attacked friend, as well as Minister." It was with great pleasure and pride that she listened to Melbourne's praise of her royal husband. Sir Robert Peel came into power as ^rime Minister, and his bearing appears to have been everything that was admirable and judicious. Care had been taken to avoid any such eaclandre as the "Bedchamber Plot," for when it was becoming apparent that a change of Ministry must take place, it was arranged that those of the Queen's ladies whose removal the Tories considered essential, on account of their close relationship to leading Whig Ministers, should voluntarily retire. As the result of this understanding, the Duchess of Bedford, the Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Normanby resigned their positions as ladies of the bedchamber. A passage in the Life of the Prince Consort, referring to the bearing of the new Premier, says: "Lord Melbourne told Baron Stockmar, who had just returned from Coburg, that Sir Robert Peel had behaved most handsomely, and that the conduct of the Prince throughout had been most moderate and judicious." All the friction caused by that little matter of Peel's attitude towards the Royal Annuity Bill had entirely passed away from the Prince's mind. THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. 167 One of the earliest acts of the new Minister waB to propose a Fine Arts Commission, with Prince Albert as chairman. Its'more immediate , object was the superintendence of the artistic work at the new Houses of Parliament Nothing could have been suggested which would have afforded greater pleasure to the Queen and the Prince than this com- mission, and the latter spoke of it as his real initiation into public life. It gave him an opportunity to display his taste, and to advance the liberal arts in the country. As to social reforms, it should be stated to the Prince's credit that it was owing to his influence, and that of the Duke of Wellington, that the practice of dueling disappeared from the British army. There was great rejoicing at Buckingham Palace on the 9th of Novem« ber, 1841, when the Queen gave birth to her flrst-born son, and conse* quently the heir to the throne. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Premier and all the great officers of state were summoned to the palace as early as seven o'clock in the morning, and the Duchess of Kent arrived at nine. The Queen was then very ill, and had been so at intervals dur- ing the two preceding hours. Prince Albert manifested the greatest anxiety and interest, as he remained in attendance with the medical men. Sir James Clark, Dr. Locock and Mr. Blagden. Shortly before eleven o'clock the Prince was born. He was conveyed by the nurse to the Privy Councillors and others in the adjoining apartment, who thereupon signed a declaration as to the birth of an heir to the British Crown. Intelli- gence of the happy event was immediately communicated to all the mem- bers of the royal family, including the Queen Dowager, who was at Sud- bury Hall; the Duchess of Cambridge, who was at Kew; the Princess Sophia, who was at Blackheath, and the Duchesses of Gloucester and Cambridge, and the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Qeorge, who were in London. Official etiquette, usually as strong as the law of the Medes and Per- sians, was for once set aside in the great joy over the birth of a Prince. It appears that almost every influential individual in the household of Her Majesty stepped out of his proper sphere, and gave directions which belonged to the departments of others. There was a complete confusion of places for at least half an hour after the event, and court officials rushed hither and thither with the gratifying intelligence of the birth of a Prince; three messengers arrived at Marlborough House within two fnintltes, all desirous pf being the first to convey the pews to the Queep 168 THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. Dowager. Ab act of royal clemency marked the happy occasion of the birth of an heir to the throne. Her Majesty wa^ pleased to notify to the Home Secretary that those convicts who had behaved well should have their punishment commuted; and that those deserving this clemency on board the various hulks should have their liberty at once granted to them. On the 11th of November the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, and the 8heri£fs, were received at Buckingham Palace. After having had caudle served, the party were conducted by the Lord Chamberlain to the apartments of Prince Albert, to i)ay a visit of congratulation to His Boyal Highness. The infant Prince was brought into the room in which the company were assembled, and was carried round to all the distin- guished visitors present. The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a special prayer to be o£fered up in all churches on behalf of the Queen and the infant Prince. For the post of nurse to the royal child there had been many a{^li- cations, some being from ladies of wealth and position. The choice of ' the Queen fell upon Mrs. Brough, an under-servant at Claremont^ who waB herself, before her marriage, a housemaid in the establishment At the birth of the Princess Royal the previous wet-nurse received £500; but on the birth of the Prince of Wales all the gratuities were doubled. There was great happiness within the i)alace. At Christmas the Queen wrote in her Journal : "To think that we have two children now, and one who enjoys the sight already (the Christmasrtree) ; it is like a dream." Prince Albert, writing to his father, said: "This is the dear Christmas eve on which I have so often listened with impatience fw your step, which was to convey us into the gift-room. To-day I have two chil- dren of my own to make gifts to, who, they know not why, are full of happy wonder at the German Christmas-tree and its radiant candles." Her Majesty gives us another sketch of a peaceful "interior:" "Albert brought in dearest little Pussy (Princess Victoria), in such a fionart, white merino dress> trimmed with blue, which mamma had given her, and a pretty cap, and placed her on my bed, seating himself next to her, and she was very dear and good; and ^ my precious, invalual>le Albert sat there, and our little love between us, I felt quite moved with happi- ness and gratitude to God." Writing some weeks later to King Leopold, she said : "I wonder very much whom our little boy will be like. You will understand how fervent are my prayers, and I am sure everybody's must be, to see him resemble his father in every respect, both in mind and AXBERT MEMORIAIi The above beautiful group, made of marble and entitled "Africa." is a monument erected In London, to the memory of Prince Albert, for encouraging work In Northern Africa and carrying light and intelligence to the African race. "*> Royal Mausoleum The mautoleom in which Victoria was Interred is situated in Frogmore Park, within Mght of Windsor Castle. It was finished a year after the death of the Prince Consort and received his remains in December, 1862. The mausoleum is said to have cost $1,000,000 and li one of the most sumptuous buildings of its kind In the world: CoRONATiox CuAiR— Westminster Abbey This picture is a reproduction of a photograph of the chair In which the sovereigns of England have been crowned since the time of Edward III. It Is made of marble and very handsomely carved. QusEN's Privatb Chapel (TVlndsor Castle.) THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. ^ 173 body." And in another letter Bhe remarked: *We all have our trials and yexations; but if one's home is happy, then the rest is comparatively nothing." ^ When the Wby Prince was a month old the Queen issued a patent cre- ating "our most dear son" Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. He waa already Duke of Saxony, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, Earl of Carriok, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Qreat Steward of Scot- land. With regard to his new Welsh dignity the patent ran : "As has been accustomed, we do ennoble and invest him with the said principality and earldom, by girting him with a sword, by putting a coronet on his head and a gold ring on his finger, and also by delivering a gold rod into his band, at he may preside there, and may direct and defend those parts." The christening of the Prince of Wales, which was made a very imposr ing ceremony, took place on the 25th of January, 1842, in St George^s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The King of Prussia had arrived at the Castle three days before, on a visit to the Queen, and to stand as chief sponsor at the christening. He was accompanied by the famous savwni, Baron Alexander von Humboldt. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of London, Winchester, Oxford and Norwich, officiated at the baptismal ceremony. The sponsors were the King of Prussia, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cambridge (proxy for the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg), and the Princess Augusta of Cambridge (proxy for the Princess Sophia). When the infant Prince was brought in and given into the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the sp6nsors named him "Albert Edward," by which names he was accordingly christened by His Grace. On the condusion of the ceremony the Hallelujah Chorus was sung by the full choir, by request of Prince Albert, and the overture to Handel's oratorio of Esther was performed. The nan^e of Albert was given to the young Prince, after his father, and that of Edward, after his/ maternal grandfather, the Duke of Kent. After the christening the Queen held a chapter of the Order of the Garter, when the King of Prussia^ as "a lineal descendant of King George I.," waa elected a Knight Companion, the Queen buckling the garter round his knee. Then followed luncheon in the White Breakfast Koom, and in the evening there was a grand banquet in St George's Hall. The display of plate was amazing, and there was one immense gold vessel, described as more like a bath than anything else, capable of containing i,-- *.- ' 174 THE LABORS OF A MONARCH. thirty dozens of wine. To the great surprise of the Prassian yisitors, it^ was filled with mulled claret. Four toasts were drank, which were given by the Lord Steward, the Earl of Liverpool, in the following order: "His Boyal Highness the Prince of Wales," "The King of Prussia," "The Queen," and "His Royal Highness Prince Albert." An immense royal christening cake was placed in the Waterloo Chamber after the banquet The expenses incurred in connection with the christening ceremony and the subsequent festivities amounted to about £200,000. The Queen paid special honor and deference to her august guest, the King of Prussia. When she ftrst met him, on his arrival at Windsor, she kissed him twice, and made him two low curtseys. In her Journal she writes of the King: "He was in common morning costume, and com- plained much of appearing so before me. He is entertaining, agreeable, and witty; tells a thing so pleasantly, and is full of amusing anecdotes." The King was magnificently entertained during the whole of his stay by the Queen, and also by many of the leading members of the aristocracy. He manifested great interest in the historic buildings and other sights of London, and was indefatigable in visiting the chief points of attrac- tion. There never was a period in Her Majesty's life when she was more jubilfitnt in spirits, or more profoundly happy, than this which imme- diately succeeded upon the birth of the Prince of Wales. Supremely blessed in the choice she had made of a husband, she rejoiced to see her Royal Ck)nsort daily making his way in the affections of the people and now that there was an heir to the crown, the Sovereign and the people were drawn closely together by a new and auspicious bond. The weight of state cares no longer pressed heavily upon her, and her cup of happi- ness was full even to overflowing. CHAPTER VL FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. Terrible Hews from Alkhaiilgtaa— AG]mtTraged7---AttemptB of Franele aad Betn to Sheol Her H^leslu— The <)aeeii'8 first Tisit to Scotlanil— Birth of tiie Frineess Allee— Tom Thvmb m Tlsltor at Windsor Castle— The Emperor of Russia Tlsiti tiie Court— Famine in Ireland— Chartist Meetings— London in Terror-Trials of Irish Agitstors— Death of IiMd Melhonme— The Qaeen Yisiti Ireland. FOB some years there had in the East a series of been proceeding events which, in the early part of 1842, eventuated in one of the most tragic catastrophies of modern history. Terrible news came from Afghanistan, where "the fatal policy of English interference with the fiery tribes of Northern India in support of an unpopular ruler had ended in the murder of Sir Alexander Burnes and Hir William Macnaghten, and the evacuation of Oabul by the English." Other disasters succeeded, chief amongst which was the destruction of Her Majesty's Forty-fourth Begiment The soldiers were cut down almost to a man, and only one individual of the whole British force was able to reach Jellalabad. This was Dr. Brydon, who arrived there, faint and wounded, on the 13th of January. The story of his sufferings, as well as a graphic narrative of the whole campaign, is to be read in the journals of the period. The British army marched through the Blhyber Pass, defeated Akbar Khan in the Tezeen Valley, and eventually reached Cabul, when the prisoners, long pent up within that city, were released. Cabul was subsequently evacuated, and Jellalabad was destroyed. The British arms ultimately triumphed, but only after a fearful and bloody campaign, in which many of the finest of their troops were cut off by a harassing guerrilla warfare. As the year opened England was also at war with China. Fortunate- ly, the uniform success which had attended previous hostile operations against that Power once more smiled upon her arms and brought the Celestials to reason. After the taking of Chinkeang-foo by the British, and the appearance of her squadron before Nankin, hostilities were sus- pended and negotiations for peace were entered into and concluded between the Chinese Commissioners and Sir Henry Pottinger. But the condition of things in England was very serious. Not only 170 176 FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. was th^re a continuouB fall in the revenue, but an ever-growing agita- tion tlirougliout the country on the subject of the Corn Laws. Loud and general complaints were heard of depression in all the principal branches of trade^ accompanied by distress among the poorer classes; and after all alTowance had been made for exaggeration there still remained a real and lamentable amount of misery and destitution. Though the people bore their sufferings with exemplary patience and fortitude, there could be no doubt that they were passing through a period of deep trial and privation. It was not, therefore, without a shadow over her happiness that the Queen opened Parliament in person on the 3d of February. The cere- mony was attended by more than usual pomp and sjdendor in conse- quence of the presence of the King of Prussia. Madame Bunsen, who was a spectator of the scene in the House of Lords, wrote : "The opening of Parliament was the thing from which I expected most^ and I was not disappointed. The throngs in the streets, in the windows^ in every place people could stand upon, all looking so pleased; the splendid Horse Guards, the Grenadiers of the Guard, of whom might be said as Che King said on another occasion, *An appearance so fine, you know not how to bplieve it true,' the Yeomen of the Bodyguard ; then in the House of Lords^ the peers in their robes, the beautifully-dressed ladies with very many beautiful faces; lastly, the procession of the Queen's entry, and herself, looking worthy and fit to be the converging point of so many rays of grandeur." Two daring attempts to assassinate the Queen were made during the year of 1842, within a few weeks of each other. The first was by a man named John Francis. Towards seven o'clock on the evening of May 30, Her Majesty and party were proceeding down Constitution HilL When about half way down the would-be assassin was seen to take a pistol from his side and to fire it in the direction of the royal carriage, from which he was distant not more than seven feet. The Queen manifested her usual courageous demeanor under the outrage. Francis was immediately seized by Private Allen, of the Fusilier Guards and Police Constable Turner, who was attempting to dash the pistol out of his hand when the shot was fired. The culprit was taken to the lodge adjoining the palace, where he was searched, and a ball, with a little powder, and the still warm pistol, were taken from his person. The man maintained a dogged silence as to his motive, and refused to give any Explanation about hi9 FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. l^* antecedents; but it was subseqiiently ascertained that he was the son of a machinist in Drury Lane Theater^ and had forborne months been out of employment When the news of the outrage reached the Houses of Piar- liament, both Lords and Commons adjourned in confusion, as it was found impossible to carry on the public business amidst the excitement which the attempt occasioned. All concurrent accounts speak of the admirable bravery and presence of mind of the Queen. It appears that on the previous Sunday, while the Queen and Prince were driving along the Mall, having been to service at the Chapel Royal, St. James', Prince Albert saw a man step out of the crowd of cheering spectators and present a 'pistol at him. Happily, the pistol did not go off, and the Queen, who was bowing to the people on the other side, neither heard nor saw anything. As the Prince's own knowledge of the attempt was corroborated by an independent witness, ner Majesty was apprised of the occurrence. The Prince, in afterwards writing to his father, said that both l^e and the Queen were naturally much agitated, and that his wife had become nervous and unwell. Her 31ajesty's doctor desired her to continue going out, however. The Queen herself was strongly in favor of this. She "never could have existed," she herself said afterwards, "under the uncertainty of a concealed attack. She would much rather run the immediate risk at any time than have the presentiment of danger constantly hovering over her." But with that generous consideration which has always distinguished her, she would not permit her female attendants to accompany her, in accordance with the usual practice, on her dangerous drive. Lady Bloomfield, who was then Miss Liddell, one of the maids-of-honor in waiting, has described how Her Majesty's attendants waited at home all the afternoon, expect- ing a summons, which never came, to go the usual drive. The Queen went out with the Prince alone, and when they came back the news of the dastardly attempt spread through the palace. To Miss Liddell her royal mistress said: "I dare say, Georgy, you were surprised at not driving with me this afternoon, but the fact was, that as we returned from church yesterday a man presented a pistol at the carriage window, whidi flashed in the pan; we were so taken by surprise that he had time to escape; so I knew what was hanging over me, and I was determined to expose no life but my own." The Queen and her husband had driven out by Hampstead, being warmly cheered along the route, and had nearly Bccomplished the return journey, when between the Green Park and the ■i '7^-j^ 178 FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. garden wall, and jnst opposite to where Oxford had made his attempt two years before, tbe miscreant FranciSi who was lying in wait, fixed his pistol, being then about flye or seven paces off. The Prince at once recognized the man as the same "little swarthy ill-looking rascal" who had made the abortive attempt on the preceding day Her Majesty attended the Royal Italian opera on the evening of the attempt, desirous of showing herself as early as possible to her subjects. There was a scene of extraordinary enthusiasm, and the national anthem was performed to the accompaniment of repeated bursts of cheering. On the following day congratulatory addresses were voted by both Houses of Parliament to the Queen on her escape from assassination; and numerous similar addresses were subsequently forwarded by corporate bodies throughout the Kingdom. The trial of John Francis for shooting at the Queen took place on June 17, when the prisoner was found guilty and sentenced to death. On the conclusion of Chief Justice TindalPs address, Francis fell insen- sible into the arms of one of the turnkeys, and in that state was carried out of the court. The Queen directed a reprieve of the sentence, although she was "fully conscious of the encouragement to similar attempts which might follow from such leniency." The death sentence on Francis was commuted to transportation for life, and he was sent out to Tasmania. On the very day following this noble exercise of the royal clemency —that is Sunday, the 3rd of July — ^another daring attempt was made to shoot the Queen. It occurred while she was driving to the Chapel Boyal, St. James', accompanied by her uncle the King of the Belgiana A deformed youth, named John William Bean, leveled a pistol at the Queen and attempted to fire it The pistol was loaded, but very fortunately did not go off. The hunchback was seized by a youth named Dassett, but the police at first treated the thing as a joke. But when Dassett was in danger of being arrested a» the actual culprit, witnesses came forward who proved the real state of the case. The pistol was found to contain only powder, paper, and some bits of a tobacco-pipe, rammed together. It was also discovered that Bean, who was a chemist's assist- ant, had written a letter to his father stating that he "would never see him again, as he intended doing something which was not dishonest, but desperate." The Queen had no knowledge of Bean's attempt until her return to the palace, and when apprised of it she betrayed no alarm, but said, ^^she FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. ' 119 had expected a repetition of the attempts on her life so long as the law remained unaltered by which they could be dealt with only as acts of high treason/' In the Life of the Prince Consort we read : "Sir Robert Peel hurried up from Cambridge, on hearing what had occurred, to con- sult with the Prince as to the steps to be taken. During this interview Her Majesty entered the room, when the Minister, in public so cold and self-controlled, in reality so full of genuine feeling, out of his ver^ man- liness, was unable to control his emotion, and burist into tears." Although a harebrained loye of notoriety had quite as much to do with these attempts as any desire to kill, it had now become absolutely necessary to pass some law to meet such alarming offenses against the person of the Sovereign. Accordingly, on the 12th of July the Premier introduced a Bill into Parliament making attempts on the Queen's life punishable as high misdemeanors by transportation for seven yeears, or imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for a period not exceeding three years. Further the culprit was to be publicly or privately whipped as often and in such manner and form as the court should direct, not exceeding thrice. This measure became law on the 16th. Bean was brought to trial on the 25th of August following, at the Central Criminal Court The pistol having missed fire, the capital charge was aban- doned, and the hunchback was tried for misdemeanor. He was convicted upon this charge, and Lord Abinger sentenced him to eighteen months' imprisonment in Newgate. To the anxiety caused by these dastardly attempts upon the life of the Sovereign succeeded a sad incident which caused deep grief to the Queen and her husband. On the 13th of July intelligence was received in Lon- don to the effect that the Duke of Orleans, while riding in his carriage, was suddenly thrown from it and killed on the spot Her Majesty was much affected on receiving this deplorable news, and wrote an autograph letter of condolence to the royal family of France. In the autumn of 1842 the Queen paid her first visit to Scotland, accompanied by the Prince. She traveled by water, and was received at Granton pier by the Duke of Buccleuch, driving through Edinburgh to Dalkeith Palace. The new experiences of the first visit paid outside her native land delighted the Queen, and found very graphic expression in her Highland Journal. Nothing escaped her quick eyes: the many- Btoried houses of the Old Town, the aged crones standing at the doors m their white mutches, the bare-footed lads and lassies, the fish-wives in i / 160 FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. their Bhort petticoats, with the ^'caller herrin', fresh drawn frae theForth'^ in kreels npon their backs, and all the* sights of the historic town were quickly noted down. Her Majesty took oatmeal porridge at her break- fast^ tried the '^Finnan baddies^" and pronounced the homely Scottish fare excellent. She held a reception at Holyrood Palace, and a levee at Dalkeith House, visited Lord Rosebery (grandfather of the present Earl) at Dalmeny, and journeyed farther.north to the Highlands^ visit- ing all the places of interest en route. Scott was constantly in her hand, and she delighted to verify the places and scenes of which he wrote. Never probably had the Queen so enjoyed a holiday. She roamed about the lochs and glens, made friends with the old women in the cottages, and enjoyed a freedom which was absolutely new to her. Qreat was her amusement to see the astonishment of one old woman, when told that the young lady to whom she had given flowers from her garden was the Queen. The ancient dame rubbed up her best English, and endeav- ored to make Her Majesty understand that she was "richt*^ welcome to Scotland. There were torchlight dances, and reels and strathspeys for the entertainment of the royal visitors, with all of which the Queen was greatly pleased, and at the close of the tour she confessed to having become quite fond of hearing the bagpipes. Everywhere she was received with enthusiasm, and many are the stories told of the criticisms, full of pawky humor, offered by the crowd. A gentleman in Edinburgh said to his farm-servant, "Well, John, did you see the Queen ?'^ "Troth did I that, sir. I was terrible *f eared afore she came forritr— my heart was maist in my mouth, but when she did come forrit, I was na feared at a'; I just lookit at her, and she lookit at me, an' she bowed her heid at me, an' I bowed my held at her. She's a raal fine leddie, wi'oot a bit o' pride aboot her at a'." The Queen quitted Scotland on the 15th of September, after staying a fortnight. "As the fair shores of Scotland receded more and more from our view," she writes in her journal, "we felt quite sad that this very pleasant and interesting tour was over; but we shall never forget it." After their return home, the Queen and the Prince took their two little children on a visit to the Duke of Wellington at Walmer Castle, to get the sea air. While here, the Queen received the important and grati- fying intelligence of the re-conquest of Afghanistan by British troops^ as well as the news of the conclusion of peace with China. When Parliament assembled on the 1st of February, 1813, the Queen German Empebor William II. and Family The above picture Is one of the best ever taken of this charming family. Emperor William Is a son of the Empress Dowager Frederick and a grandson ot Queen Victoria. He ascended the throne June 15. 1888. The boy whom the Diuther has her arm around la the Crown Prince Frederick William. r Qvfifvf. the Duke of York and Duke of CornwaH, King Edward VJI. He uiarrtdd Prltsc^RS Mny of Teck, Edward iLDd Albert, ditid a. daugbter* frlnceas Vktort&. DuKK or York H the second luid only fliirvlvLns xoa of Jylf 6, l^SSi and fau now I wo sont. PAMtLV LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. ' 183 was unable^ for the first time since her accession, to open it in person. Another daughter was born to Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace on the 25th of April. Tlie Prince Consort was presentj^^but, with the exception of the Earl of Liverpool, Lord Steward o^ the Household, all the official personages arrived too late. They came just in time to see the first bulletin, and then left again, the Queen and infant being reported as progressing most favorably. The infant Princess was christened on the 2nd of June, and received the names of Alice Maud Mary. The sponsors were the King of Hanover, Prince Ernest, the Princess Sophia Matilda, and Princess Feodore. The child grew up to be an especial favorite with the English people, who sympathized deeply with her in the many sorrows which marked her married life. An accident occurred to Her Majesty on the 5th of J^uary, 1844, but happily it was not attended with serious results. The Queen, attended by the Marchioness of Douro, left Windsor in an open pony- phaeton and pair, driven by a postilion, in order to be present at the meeting of Prince Albert's harriers at the Manor House at Horton. The driver took too short a turn in entering the road hear the Five Bells^ and the near wheel of the carriage, from the rottenness of the side of the road — occasioned, by a rapid thaw — sank into the ditch. The carriage was thrown against the hedge; the horse upon which the postilion was riding sinking in from the same cause. Her Majesty and the Marchioness of Douro were rescued from their perilous position by Colonel Arbuth- not, who was in attendance on horseback. The Queen accepted the offer of a pony-carriage belonging to Mr. Holderness> of Horton, and was driven back to Windsor, while a messenger was despatched for the Prince Consort Some laborers who assisted in getting the carriage out of the ditch were liberally rewarded by command of the Queen. The first public statue of Her Majesty which had been erected in any part of her dominions was unveiled at Edinburgh on the 24th of Janu- ary, in this year. It was a colossal statue by Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Steell, and it was placed in position on the colonnade of the Boyal Insti- tution, fronting Princess Street. From the high elevation of the pedestal, the gigantic figure, whiqji was nearly four times life size, assumed to the spectators almost natural proportions, and harmonized with the massive building on which it was placed. The whole composition was modeled on the severest principles of Grecian art, and it still remains a classic conception of much grandeur. Her Majesty is represented seated on a / 184 FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. throne, with the diadem on her brow, while her right hand grasps the scepter, and her left leans on the orb, emblematic of her ertended sway. On the 1st of February the Queen opened Parliament in person. The Irish Repeal agitation was at this time causing much concern, and state trials were proceeding in Dublin. Daniel' and John O'Connell and six other prisoners were charged with conspiracy in endeavoring to obtain a repeal of the union between Great Britain and Ireland. Her Majesty, in receiving an address on the 2nd of February from the Corporation of Dublin, said : "I receive with satisfaction the assurance that sentiments of loyalty and attachment to my person continue to be cherished by you. The legal proceedings to which you refer are now in progress before a competent tribunal, and I am unwilling to interrupt the administration of justice according to law." O^Connell and his fellow-agitators were convicted and sentented to various terms of imprisonment ; but an appeal being made to the House of Lords, the judgment was reversed. The Repeal agitation, however, did not flourish after the trial. A curious but important domestic reform was inaugurated in the royal household at Windsor early this year. At the suggestion of Her Majesty, all the unused bread of the various departments^ which amounted to an enormous quantity in the course of the year, and which had hitherto been disposed of in an unsatisfactory manner, was directed to be given in the future to the inmates of the several almshouses within the burgh of Windsor. A visitor at the Castle has referred to the enor- mous preparation and expense which were going forward every day, and to the strange sight which the royal kitchen almost daily presented. "The fire was more like Nebuchadnezzar's 'burning fiery furnace' than any- thing else I can think of; and though there is now no company at Wind- sor, there were at least fifteen or twenty large joints of meat roasting. Charles Murray told me that last year they fed at dinner 113,000 people. It sounds perfectly incredible ; but every day a correct list is kept of the number of mouths fed ; and this does not include the ball suppers, etc., etc., but merely dinners." A distinguished visitor arrived at Windsor in March, in the person of General Tom Thumb. He was under the charge of his guardian, the enterprising Barnum, and the General afforded much entertainment to fler Majesty, Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent and the members of the royal household by his extraordinary intellectual display. It was stated that his smart replies to the various questions put to him by the FAMILY LIFH AND NATIONAL DUTIES. 185 Queen caused great astonishment Mr. Barnum subsequently wrote that "surprise and pleasure were depicted on the countenances of the royal circle at beholding this remarkable specimen of humanity so much smaller than they had evidently expected to find him." The General advanced with a firm step, and as he came within hailing distance, made a very graceful bow, and exclaimed : "Good evening, ladies and gentle- men !" A burst of laughter followed this salutation. The Queen then took him by the hand, led him about the gallery, and asked him many questions, the answers to which kept the party in an uninterrupted state of merriment. The General familiarly informed the Queen that her picture gallery was "first rate," and told her he should like to see the Prince of Wales. The Queen replied that the Prince had retired to rest, but that he should see him on some future occasion. The General gave them his songs, dances and recitations; and after a con- versation with Prince Albert and all present, which lasted for more than an hour, he was permitted to depart. As he retired, the General was startled by the barking of the Queen's favorite poodle, and he at once began an attack upon that animal with his little cane. A funny fight ensued, greatly to the merriment of the royal party. A lord-in-waiting expressed a hope that the General had sustained no damage in the encounter, adding playfully that in case of injury to so renowned a personage he should fear a declaration of war by the United States. In April General Tom Thumb paid a second and a third visit to Buck- ingham Palace by command of the Queen. The second visit was espe- cially interesting and amusing, and it has thus been described by Mr. Barnum in his volume entitled Struggles and Triumphs: "We were received in what is called the ^Yellow Drawing-room,' a magnificent apartment, surpassing in splendor and gorgeousness any- thing of the kind I had ever seen. It is on the north side of the gallery, and is entered from that apartment It was hung with drapery of rich yellow satin damask, the couches, sofas and chairs being covered with the same material. The vases, urns and ornaments were all of modern patterns and the most exquisite workmanship. The room was paneled in gold, and the heavy cornices beautifully carved and gilt. The tables, pianos, etc., were mounted with gold inlaid with pearl of various hues, and of the most elegant designs. "We were ushered into this gorgeous drawing-room before the Queen and royal circle had left the dining-room; and as they approached the I 186 l^AMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. General bowed respectfully, and remarked to Her Majesty that Tie had seen her before;' adding: *I think this is a prettier room than the picture gallery; that chandelier is very fine.' '^The Queen took him by the hand, and said she hoped he was very well. " *Yes, madam/ he replied; *I am first-rate/ " 'General/ continued the Queen, 'this is the Prince of Wales.' "/How are you, Prince?' said the General, shaking him by the hand; and then, standing beside the Prince, he remarked : 'The Prince is taller than I am; but I feel as big as anybody;' upon which he strutted up and down the room as proud as a peacock, amidst shouts of laughter from all present. "The Queen then introduced the Princess Royal, and the General immediately led her to his elegant little sofa, which we took with us, and with much politeness sat himself down beside her. Then, rising from his seat, he went through his various performances, and the Queen handed him an elegant and costly souvenir, which had been expressly made for him by her order, for which he told her 'he was very much obliged, and would keep it as long as he lived.' The Queen of the Belgians (daughter of King Louis Philippe) was present on this occasion." On the third visit, King Leopold was present, and he put a multitude of questions to Tom Thumb. The General was dressed in a full CJourt suit Queen Victoria desired him to sing a song, and asked him what song he preferred to sing. "Yankee Doodle," was the prompt reply. This answer was as unexpected by Mr. Bamum as it was by the royal party. When the merriment which it occasioned had subsided, the Queen good-humoredly remarked: "That is a very pretty song, General; sing it, if you please." The General complied, and shortly afterwards took leave of his delighted and distinguished audience. The souvenir which Her Majesty gave to Tom Thumb was very superb, being of mother-of- pearl set with rubies, and bearing a crown and the royal initials^ "V, R." After each visit also a handsome sum was presented to Mr. BarnuuL The great Court event of the year was the visit of the Emperor of Russia — the hard, cold, cruel, handsome and imposing Nicholasw He was just in the prime of life, and struck every one by the grandeur of his bearing, though he must have thrown the officials of the royal house- hold into a flutter, seeing that he slept upon straw, and always took with him a leathern case, which, at every stage of his journey, was filled with FAMILY LIF^ 'AND NATIONAL DUTIES. 187 fresh rtraw from the stables. This strange potentate won upon the woman's heart of the Queen by his unstinted praise of her husband. **Nowhere/' he said, "will you find a handsomer young man ; he has such an air of nobility and goodness." There must really have been little in common, however, between the Russian Bear and the gentle-natured Prince Albert.. The Emperor came in the Russian warship Cyclops, and landed at Woolwich on the 1st of June. He drove straight to the Russian Embassy. The King of Saxony also arrived on the same day at Buckingham Palace on a visit to Her Majesty. On the 2nd, Prince Albert went to call upon the Emperor at the Russian Embassy, and the two illustrious personages met on the grand staircase. Their greeting was of the most affectionate and cordial kind. The Czar threw his arms around the neck of the Prince and embraced him fervently. Prince Albert returning the salute. Very scant notice had been given of the Emperor's visit, but Her Majesty expressed a strong hope that he would take up his abode at Buckingham Palace, and this he did after some days spent at Windsor. The Emperor paid visits to the various members of the royal family, and also to the Duke of Wellington, evincing the deepest interest in the veteran soldier. On the 4th, the Emperor, the King of Saxony and Princi Albert wit- nessed the races at Ascot, and on the following day there was a grand military review in the Great Park at Windsor. The greatest enthusiasm was manifested for the Iron Duke, who really attracted more attention that the Czar; but Wellington took off his hat, and, waving it in the air, said to the people very earnestly : "No, no ! not me — the Emperor ! the Emperor!" The people then warmly cheered the Czar. During the inspection of troops, the Emperor was most keenly interested in the Seventeenth Lancers and Forty-seventh Foot. He surveyed them minutely, saying that he wished to see the regiments which had fought and gained England's battles in India. On the approach of the Life Guards, the Duke of Wellington put himself at the head of his regiment, and advanced with it before Her Majesty; the spectacle calling forth an exhibition of unusual enthusiasm. The Queen gave birth to a son on the 6th of August at Windsor Castle. The event was scarcely expected so soon, and only three hours before, Her Majesty had signed the Commission for giving the royal assent to various bills. The Queen's happy delivery was announced in the Times in precisely forty minutes after it had taken place at Windsor 188 FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. Castle; and as that was the first occasion on which tlie electric telegraph had been so used, the rapid publication of the news was considered very surprising. The young Prince was christened on the 6th of September in the names of Alfred Ernest Albert, being afterwards created Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen had intended visiting Ireland in the summer of 1844, but the unsettled condition of the country rendered this inadvisable, and a second visit to Scotland tooli the place of the projected Irish tour. This journey to the North was most delightful and refreshing to the royal travelers, the Queen leaving behind her the cares of her position. Louis Philippe, King of the French, arrived at Windsor Castle on the 8th of October, on a visit to Her Majesty. It w^as an event of great national interest and importance, for that distinguished yet unf and the hills rise all around." Sport and riding were the order of the day, and on the 16th the Queen ascended Loch-na-Garr on a pony led by Mr. Farquharson's head-keeper, Macdonald. Prince Albert endeavored to stalk a deer, but in vain, and then he would occasionally make a detour after ptarmigan. When Her Majesty had nearly reached the top of the mountain, the mist drifted in thick clouds, so as to hide everything not within a hundred yards or so. The ascent was determinedly finished, however; but when the visitors descended, the wind blew a hurricane, and they were almost blinded with the mist. Another day was devoted to a "drive" in the picturesque wood of Balloch Buie, where Prince Albert shot a magnificent stag. The sport was successful, and every one was delighted, Macdonald and the keepers in particular; the former saying that "it was Her Majesty's com- ing out that had brought the good luck." The Queen was supposed to have "a lucky foot," of which the Highlanders think a great deal. During Her Majesty's stay in Scotland important events were trans- piring abroad. England was comparatively quiet, though the suddai death of the Conservative leader. Lord George Bentinck, caused great sensation. In France, Prince Louis Napoleon had been elected by no fewer than five departments to the new French Chamber, while news came from Frankfort of a terrible riot in which two members of the German States Union were assassinated. The royal party at Balmoral attended a "gathering of the clans" at Invercauld, and were much interested in the wild and manly sports of the Highlanders. On the 28th, the Court left Balmoral for the south. Only a stay of a day was made in London, however, and then the Queen and her family proceeded to Osborne. In returning from their marine residence on the 9th of October, the royal party witnessed a sad accident in the Channel. The Queen's yacht passed the frigate Grampus^ which had just returned from her station in the Pacific. The day was misty and stormy, but five women, relatives of the men on board the Grampus> had gone out in a small boat to meet them, being rowed by two watermen. A sudden squall swamped the boat, without the knowledge of any one on FAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES. 19S board the two vessels. The men on board a Custom-house boat, howeyer,- perceived a man clinging to the capsized boat, and immediately came to render assistance. Prince Albert was the first person on board the Fairy to realise what had occurred. The Queen was quite overcome. The royal yacht was stopped, and one of its boats lowered, which picked up three women, two of whom were unfortunately dead. The storm was very vio- lent, and Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, the commander of the Queen's yacht, having decided that nothing further could be done, held on his course, afSrming that it would be very unsafe to delay. The Queen and Prince Albert were strongly in favor of staying, and Her Majesty felt the sad incident very much, for she wrote afterwards: ^^It was a dreads, ful moment; too horrid to describe. It is a consolation to think we were of some use, and also that, even if the yacht had remained, they could not have done more. Still, we all keep feeling we might, though I think we could not. It is a terrible thing, and haunts me continually." In the ensuing month of November, Lord Melbourne, the Queen's first Minister — and a man to whom she had become much attached, in consequence of his almost paternal devotion to her in her early youth — passed away, having been for some time in seclusion. Her Majesty wrote concerning him : ^'Truly and sincerely do I deplore the loss of one who was a most disinterested friend of mine, and most sincerely attached to me. He was, indeed, for the first two years and a half of my reign almost the only friend I had, except Stockmar and Lehzen, and I used to see him constantly— daily. I thought much and talked much of him all day." The Queen also wrote in her Journal a day or two subsequently: ^^I received a pretty and touching letter from Lady Palmerston, saying that my last letter to poor Lord Melbourne had been a great comfort and relief to him, and that during the last melancholy years of his life we had often been the chief means of cheering him up. This is a great satisfac* tion to me to hear." Parliament was opened by the Queen in person, on the 2nd of Feb- ruary, and, in addition to its reference to the continued Irish distress at home, the royal speech lamented that a formidable rebellion had broken out in the Punjab. The war proceeded with disastrous conse- quences, and although the fiercely contested battle of Chillianwallah left the British masters of the field, the Sikhs infiicted terrible losses upon England's troops. Sir Charles Napier was sent out, but before he arrived in India Lord Qough had encountered the combined forces of the enemy 196 PAMILY LIFE AND NATIONAL DUTIES, at Goojerat, and had totally defeated them. The rebellion was sup- pressedy and the Punjab was annexed to the British possessions in India. On the 19th of May another dastardly attack was made upon Her Majesty. After holding a drawing room at Buckingham Palace, she went out in an open carriage, with three of her children, to take a drive round the parks. Shortly before six o^clock the royal carriage had ^arrived about midway down Constitution Hill on its return, when a man who stood within the railings of the Oreen Park discharged a pistol in the direction of the Queen. He was immediately seized by the bystand- ers, and would probably have been the victim of lynch law had not a park-keeper and a constable interfered and arrested him. The carriage stopped for a moment, but Her Majesty, with great coolness and decision, stood up, and motioned the driver to go forward. The prisoner was brought up and identified as one William Hamilton, of Adare, in the county Limerick. He was a bricklayer's laborer, who for five years past had led a roving life in France and England. His last place of abode was in Pimlico, in the house of a fellow-Irishman, whose wife had lent him an old rusty pistol, ostensibly to make '^a sight in the air among the trees." He was afterwards found in the Green Park under the circumstances narrated. Hamilton was put on his trial at the Cen- tral Criminal Court, when witnesses proved the presenting of the pistol at the carriage and its explosion. The prisoner was sentenced to seven years' transportation. The Queen's long-expected visit to Ireland was paid in August, 1849. Her Majesty and Prince Albert, with their four children, embarked at (^owes on the 1st, in the royal yacht, and steered to the westward, con- voyed by a squadron of four steamei^s. They arrived at the Cove of Cork at ten p. m. on the following day, and came to anchor amidst the boom- ing of artillery and the blaze of a universal illumination on sea and land. Next morning the most deafening cheers hailed Her Majesty's first land- ing on Irish ground. The Queen received a number of addresses, and communicated her royal pleasure that the town of Cove should, in com- memoration of its being the spot chosen for her landing, henceforth bear the name of Queenstown. The royal party re-embarked, and proceeded to Cork amid the enthusiastic shouts of thousands of Irish Celts. A royal progress was made through the city, the Queen being much struck by the noisy but good-natured crowd, and by the beauty of the women. The royal squadron next sailed to Waterford, and from there went on PAMILV life and national duties. 19? to Dublin. As the vessels c^me into Kingstown Harbor, and the Queen appeared on deck, there was a burst of cheering, renewed again and again, from some 40,000 spectators. Early on the following day, Lord Clarendon, the Lord Lieutenant, and Lady Clarendon, with Prince George of Cambridge, the Archbishop of Dublin, and various officers of state, went on board to be in attendant; on Her Majesty. A deputation from the county of Dublin, headed by the Earl of Charlemont, presented an address. At ten o'clock the Queeu and Prince Albert prepared to land, with their children. As the Queen's foot touched the shore, the royal standard swept aloft, the populace shouted, and the booming of the heavy guns veritably shook the earth. An eye-witness thus describes Her Majesty's passage from the btiat to the railway : "It was a sight never to be forgotten, a sound to be recol- lected forever. Ladies threw aside the old formula of waving a white pocket-handkerchief, and cheered for their lives^ while the men waved whatever came first to hand — hat, stick, wand or coat (for the day was very hot) — ^and rent the air with shouts of joy, which jiever decreased in energy till their beloved Sovereign was far out of sight The Queen, turning from side to side, boij^^ed repeatedly. Prince Albert shared in and acknowledged the plaudits of the people, while the royal children were objects of universal attention and admiration. Her Majesty seemed to feel deeply the warmth of her reception. She paused at the end of the platf(H*m for a moment, and again making her acknowledgments, was hailed with one universal and tremendous cheer as she entered the ter- minus. The royal party then went by rail to the capital." The royal carriages were in waiting at the terminus, and Her Majesty now made her progress through Dublin, having first received the keys of the city from the Lord Mayor, and graciously returned them to him. There was a triumphal arch of great size and beauty at the entrance to the city, but it was the human element all along the route which most deeply interested the Queen. "It was a wonderful and stirring scene," she wrote; "such masses of human beings, so enthusiastic, so excited, yet such perfect order maintained. Then the number of troops, the different bands stationed at certain distances, the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, the bursts of welcome that rent the air, all made it a never-to-be-forgotten scene when we reflected how lately the country had been under martial law." Dublin, with its magnificent Sackville street, was greatly admired by the royal visitors. In the midst of all the shouts Id8 FAMILY LIFE 'AND t^ATIOHAL DUTtES. ing and excitement, at the last triumphal arch, a tame dove, with an olive-branch round it» neck, was let down into the Queen's lap — an inci- dent which deserve^ recording to the honor of some poetic Celt The Dowager Queen Adelaide died on the 2nd of December, at her country seat of Bentley Priory, at the age of fifty-seven years. Towards the close of November, Queen Victoria had paid her last visit to her, afterwards writing to King Leopold : "There was death written in that dear face. It was such a picture of misery, of complete prostration, and yet she talked of everything. I could hardly command my feelings when I came in, and when I kissed twice that poor dear thin hand. I love her so dearly; she has ever, been so maternal in her affection to me. She will find peace and a reward for her many sufferings." Her Majesty's third son and seventh child was born May 1, 1850, and as this was the birthday of the Duke of Wellington, it was determined to give him the same name — ^Arthur. The child was christened "Arthur William Patrick Albert" The second name was given after Prince William of Prussia, Patrick was in remembrance of the Queen's visit to Ireland and Albert was chosen after the Prince Consort. Only a few weeks after the birth of her child, a most cowardly attack was made upon the Queen by one Lieutenant Pate, a man of good family. t>soii Castle Albert Memorial— London This beautiful monument, erected by Queen Victoria and her people In memory of the Prince ronaort is located In Kensington Gardens, the birth-place of Queen Victoria. It Is of granite brSnzr and marble The groups of figures at the four corners of the base are especially fine. ' muroie. ^HE FIRST GREAT JV'ORLD'S EXPOSITION. 813 . she personated in right of her motKer-in-law, CJorisaiide de Grammont, granddaughter of Marie Antoinette's friend, Gabrielle de Polignac. Mr. Bancroft Davies, Secretary of the United States Legation, appeared as William Penn; and there were many other assumptions of distinguished characters. Miss Burdett Coutts and Lady Londonderry surprised every one by their dazzling display of jewels. The Duke of Wellington was in the scarlet and gold uniform of the period; Lord Galway was in a plain cuirass and gorget; while Mr. Gladstone appeared as a judge of the High C!ourt of Admiralty in Charles' reign, "in a velvet coat turned up with blue satin, ruffles and collar of old point, black breeches and stock- ings, and shoes with spreading bows.'' The C5ity also gave a grand ball at the Guildhall on the 9th of July, to celebrate the opening of the Exhibition. The Queen and Prince Albert, and large numbers of the aristocracy, were present. The great hall in which the ball took place was splendidly fitted up. There was a striking array of banners emblazoned with the arms of the nations and cities represented at the Palace in Hyde Park, while the compartments beneath the balconies were filled with pictorial representations of the finest and most striking contributions in the Exhibition. After the dancing, supper was served in the crypt, which was made to represent an old baronial hall. On leaving, her Majesty thanked Lord Mayor Mus- grove for his hospitality, and announced her intention of creating him a baronet. Prince Albert told Baron Stockmar that this City ball passed off most brilliantly, and that a million of people remained till three in the morning in the streets, and cheered Her Majesty on her return with great enthusiasm. On the 27th of August the Queen, Prince Albert and several of the royal children, left London for Balmoral, traveling for the first time by the Great Northern Railway. A halt was made at Peterborough, where Her Majesty had a kindly interview with the venerable Bishop, Dr. Davys, who had been the tutor of her childhood. Boston, Lincoln, and Doncaster were next visited, the royal party stopping for a night at the last-named town, selecting the Angel Inn for their resting-place. Going on next day to Edinburgh, Her Majesty and the Prince drove through the city, and remained for the night in the State apartments of Holyrood Palace. The honor of knighthood was conferred on the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. Balmoral was reached on the evening of the 29th. The castle and 214 THE FIRST GREAT WORLD'S EXPOSITION. domain had now become royal property, -The estate extended to upwards of seven miles in length and four in breadth. The stay this year was not marked by any special incidents, though several features of interest attended the return journey. Leaving her Highland residence on the 7th of October, the Queen journeyed with her family to the south. Between Forfar and Glasgow the axle of a carriage truck became ignited, and the carriage had to be disengaged; while between (Glasgow and Edinburgh one of the feeder-pipes from the tender to the engine burst with a loud explosion. No evil results occurred from these misadventures. At Lancaster the royal party alighted to view John of Qaunf s ancient castle. The Queen and the Prince then proceeded to Croxteth Park, the seat of the Earl of Sefton. From thence, on the fol- lowing day, a royal progress was made through Liverpool, in accordance with previous arrangements. Great preparations had been made for Her Majesty's reception, but the weather was disastrously unfavorable. The rain poured down in torrents, and all objects were concealed in a deep mist. The Queen and the Prince, nevertheless, courageously went through the whole of the programme; and the streets were crowded with persons whose loyalty defied the elements. The royal party vis- ited the Docks, and sailed round the mouth of the Mersey. They then visited the Town Hall and St. George's Hall. At the Town Hall addresses were presented, and Her Majesty knighted the Mayor, Mr. ' John Bent. From Liverpool the royal party went by barges on the Bridgewater Canal to Worsley Hall, the seat of the Earl of Ellesmere. Next day was a grand gala day at Manchester. There was a royal progress through the town, the Queen being received everywhere with the utmost enthusiasm; and in Peel Park nearly 80,000 children, belong- ing to all religious denominations, were arranged in fourteen tiers of galleries. It was during this royal visit that Sir John Potter received his knighthood. Her Majesty returned to Worsley Hall, and next day the royal travelers journeyed to Watford, where they took carriages to Windsor. The Queen paid a farewell visit to the Exhibition on the 14th of Octo- ber, and shortly afterwards it was dismantled. During the five and a half months it had remained open, the visitors had been 6,200,000, and the total receipts £500,000. Several events of moment occurred before the close of the year. In November the King of Hanover died. He was the fifth and last surviv- THE FIRST GREAT WORLD'S EXPOSITION. 215 ing son of George III- and Queen Charlotte, and as Duke of Cumberland he had been anything but popular. Louis Kossuth came oyer to England in the autumn of 1851, and created intense interest and excitement. But the most startling incident of all this year occurred on the 2nd of December, that fatal day which witnessed the coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon. By the aid of the army, the ambitious Bonaparte Ruthlessly violated the rights of the people, laying the foundation of his power in bloodshed and despotism. A good deal of ill-feeling resulted between England and France, but all fears of French aggression ultimately died out. Lord Palmerston was compelled to resign in consequence of his too-ready acceptance of the coup d^etat and his acquiescence in the measures of Louis Napoleon; but he had his revenge early in the fol- lowing year, when he was mainly instrumental in overthrowing the^ Liberal Government on its Militia Bill, The year 1852 was one of appalling disasters. Early in January the splendid mail steamship Amazon was destroyed by fire as she was enter- ing the Bay of Biscay. Out of a total of 161 persons op board no fewer than 140 perished. Amongst those who met a terrible fate on this occasion was that admirable writer, Mr. Elot Warburton. Another fearful catastrophe occurred in April, when Her Majesty's steam troop- ship Birkenhead went down near the Cape of Good Hope. Heart-rend- ing accounts were published of the disaster from survivors. Out of 630 persons on board, chiefly military passengers and their wives and chil- dren, only 194 were saved. A third catastrophe, which occurred at home, was the bursting of the Bilberry reservoir, near Holmfirth, on the borders of Yorkshire and Lancashire. An immense destruction of life and property ensued. Nearly one hundred persons perished; and, as an example of the wreck and ruin involved, it may be stated that one family who the night before were worth £10,000, were reduced to ask for clothes to cover them. More than 7,000 persons were instantly rendered destitute, and the total damage was estimated at £600,000. Her Majesty was greatly moved on learning of these dire calamities. When the London season commenced this year, an interesting cor- re8i)ondence took place between the King of the Belgians and the Queen. The former was afraid lest the wear and tear of London life should have an injurious effect upon Her Majesty. The Queen's reply set her uncle's mind at rest: "The London season for us consists of two State balls and two concerts. We are hardly ever later than twelve -t^^i; 216 THE FIRST GREAT WORLP'S EXPOSITION. o'clock at nighty and our only dissipation is going three or four times a week to' the play or opera, which is a great amusement and relaxation to us both. As for going out as people do here every night to balls and parties, and to breakfasts and teas all day long besides, I am sure no one would stand it worse than I should; so yqu see, dearest uncle, that in fact the London season is nothing to us." While Her Majesty was staying at Osborne in the summer, she received news of the death of Count MensdorflE, who had married the sister of the Duchess of Kent, and was consequently uncle by marriage both to the Queen and Prince Albert Princess Hohenlohe came over on a visit at this time; she was in great distress and anguish, having just lost her eldest daughter from consumption. In July the Queen and Prince Albert made a marine excursion along the Devonshire coast, and in the ensuing month they went over to Brussels on a brief visit to King Leopold. Shortly after their return, Her Majesty received intimation that a large legacy had been bequeathed to her absolutely by an eccentric barrister of Lincoln's Inn, named John Camden Nield. The testator had inherited a large fortune from his father, which he had greatly increased by his penurious habits. Mr. Nield's personalty was sworn under £250,000. The Court proceeded to Balmoral in August, and on the 16th of the following month, while on an excursion to the Glassalt Shiel, the Queen received intelligence of the death of the greatest of her subjects. The illustrious Wellington, "the great Duke,*^ had passed away at Walmer, after a few hours* illness, and with no suffering, at the patriarchal age of eighty-three. Keenly did Her Majesty feel this great loss, for the Duke had in a measure held towards her the triple capacity of father, hero, and friend. In the plenitude of her grief, and with an exaggeration of language which will be understood in consequence, she spoke of him as "England^s, or rather Britain^s, pride, her gloi^, her hero, the greatest man she had ever produced.*' Thousands of British hearts, however, echoed the Queen's sentiment when she wrote that "one cannot think of this country without ^the Duke,* our immortal hero!" Full justice was done by the Queen in the following passage to the great soldier's character: "In him centered almost every earthly honor a subject could possess. Hid position was the highest a subject ever had — ^above party — ^looked up to by all — revered by the whole nation — the friend of the Sovereign — ^and how sim- THE FIRST GREAT WORLD'S EXPOSITION. 217 ft ' ply he carried these honors! With what singleness of purpose, what straightforwardness, what courage, were all the motives of his actions guided. "The Crown never possessed — and I fear never will — so devoted, loyal, and faithful a subject, so stanch a supporter! To us (who, alas! have lost now so many of our valued and experienced friends) his loss is irreparable, for his readiness to aid and advise, if it could be of use to us, to overcome any and every difficulty, was unequaled. To Albert he showed the greatest kindness and the utmost confidence. His experi- ence and knowledge rf the past were so great too; he was a link whieh connected us with bygone times, with the last century. Not an eye will be dry in the whole country.'^ While the pessimism of grief pervaded this tribute, it indicated very clearly the characteristics of the man whom all Britain mourned as with one heart The body of the Duke was brought up to London, and con- veyed to Chelsea Hospital, where it lay in state for four days, and was viewed privately on the first day by the Queen and Prince Albert and their children. On the 18th the great Duke was laid to rest in St. PauPs Cathedral, the funeral being such as had never before been celebrated for any Englishman. At the close of the funeral rites in the Cathedral, the body was lowered into the vault amid the solemn strains of the "Dead March.** A sense of depression, of personal loss, then came over the vast assembly. Prince Albert, it is stated, was deeply moved, and the aged Marquis of Anglesey, the octogenarian companion in arms of the deceased, by an irresistible impulse stepped forward, placed his hand on the sinking coffin that contained the remains of his chief in many battles, and burst into tears. Verily, a Prince and a great man had fallen in Israel! In December, 1852, the Derby-Disraeli Government fell upon its Budget, which was attacked with great force by Mr. Gladstone. Lord Aberdeen became Prime Minister, and his ministry included many of the leading Whigs and Peelites, Mr. Gladstone being Chancellor of the Exchequer for the first time. Across the Channel, the French Empire had just been declared, and Louis Napoleon had made his public entry into Paris as Emperor. On the 19th of March, 1853, a disastrous fire broke out in Windsor Castle, which at one time placed that magnificent structure and the whole of its contents in jeopardy. Fortunately, the flames were sub- 4 218 THE FIRST GREAT WORLD'S EXPOSITION. dued and the injury was confined to the ceilings of the dining-room in the Prince of Wales* Tower, and two floors of bedrooms immediately over it, which were practically destrqyed. The fire was supposed to haye originated from the heating of the flues. The Court was at Wind- sor at the time, and the Queen, in writing upon the Are to the King of the Belgians, said: "Though I was not alarmed it was a serious affair, and an acquaintance with what a fire is and with its necessary accom- paniments, does not pass from one^s mind without leaving a deep impression. For some time it was very obstinate, and no one could tell whether it would spread or not Thank God, no lives were lost.^ The principal treasures in the State rooms were removed in safety on the announcement of the outbreak. The eighth child of Her Majesty, and her fourth son, was bom at Buckingham Palace on the 7th of April. He was named Leopold George Duncan Albert, the first name being after King Leopold, the second after the King of Hanover, and the fourth after Prince Albert:. The third name was a compliment to Scotland. With regard to the name of Leopold, the Queen said to her uncle, "Stockmar will have told you that Leopold is to be the name of our fourth young gentleman. It is a mark of love and affection which I hope you will not disapprove. It is a name which is the dearest to me after Albert, one which recalls the almost only happy days of my sad childhood." When the young Prince arrived at manhood it was arranged to retain this popular name of Leopold by styling His Royal Highness "Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany." CHAPTER Vni. CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. Wmr Betireen Bnssia and Turkey— England and France Protest at the Plans of the Czar ^Popular Feeling Against the Prince Consort— The Cliarge of the Light Brigade at BalaklaTa— Mismanagement in the Crimea— The Emperor and Empress of the French TIsIt England— End of the War in the East— Treaty of Peace— Indian jllutlnies— Marriage of the Princess Royal- Death of Her Majesty's Mother. WHEN Parliament was prorogued on August 20th, 1853, the following passage was inserted in the Queen's speech: "It is with deep interest and concern that Her Majesty has Tiewed the serious misunderstanding which has recently risen between Russia and the Ottoman Porte. The Emperor of the French has united with Her Majesty in earnest endeavors to reconcile dififerences, the continuance of which might involve Europe in war." Affairs in the East at this time were in a critical condition. Russia had moved troops across the Danube, and the Turkish government had declared war in consequence. The English and French governments at once notified the Ozar that if any further steps of a warlike nature were taken against Turkey, the allied fleets would enter the Black Sea, and take up the cause of the Porte. Meanwhile, there were dissensions in the English Cabinet, and when Lord Palmerston, who represented the strong British war feeling, withdrew from the government, great popu- lar excitement ensued. There was loud talk about CJourt intrigue and prejudice, and it was openly said that Prince Albert was acting as a hostile influence "behind the throne" against Lord Palmerston and the wishes of the people. The feeling was now as strong against the Prince as it had been in his favor a few years before. Tories and Liberals were alike embit- tered against him. Writing to Baron Stockmar, the Prince said: "One word more about the credulity of the public. You will scarcely credit that my being committed to the Tower was believed all over the coun- try—nay, even ^that the Queen had been arrested.' People surrounded the Tower in thousands to see us brought to it. ♦ ♦ ♦ It was anything but pleasant to me that so many people could look upon me *as a rogue 819 I CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. and traitor/ and I shall not be at ease until I see the debate in Parlia* . ment well over; for it is not enough that these rumors should be dis- pelled for the time — ^they must be knocked on the head, and the disease radically cured. Then, what has occurred may be of the greatest seryice for the future/' The Queen wrote to Lord Aberdeen: **In attacking the Prince, who is one and the same with the Queen herself, the Throne is astailed, and she must say she little expected that any portion of her subjects would thus requite the unceasing labors of the Prince.^ In January, 1854, when Parliament met, the calumnies against the Pilnce were completely refuted by Lord Aberdeen in the House of T-^^'' Lord John Russell in the House of Commons. Lord Oamp Derby, and Mr. Walpole, all high constitutional authorities, the right of the Prince to support the Sovereign by his advice ters of State. Her Majesty heartily rejoiced when the clouds lifted, ai she wrote to Baron Stockmar, on the anniversary of her showed the strength of her womanly feelings. ^*This blessec-i observed, "is full of joyful, tender emotions. Fourteen li blessed years have passed, and I confidently trust many moru find us in old age as we are now — ^happy and devotedly unit . we must have; but what are they if we are together?" A fami was performed on this occasion, in which all the royal chi: part. At one point in the proceedings the Princess Helena a] Britannia, and pronounced a blessing on the Queen and Pri: name of all the seasons, which had been represented respectiv Princess Alice, the Princess Royal, Prince Alfred, and the Wales. Not long after this peaceful scene, war was declared agair and on a cold March morning a painfully interesting inciden nessed in front of Buckingham Palace, when the Fusiliers mar^ cheering the Queen heartily. Her Majesty was much touches farewell to her gallant troops, now setting out for the Bast. 1 ' many sorrowing friends to bid good-bye to the soldiers. Hig felt the grief of parting, and amongst the former was the D*; Cambridge, who bade farewell to her son. Some days later t went to Spithead, to view the magnificent fleet under Sii Napier, before it sailed for the Baltic. Her Majesty's birthday was this year spent at Osborne, anc to com- t 8|. g *-' H a c s >»* n o ■ O J2J' « SI* S s O 4 §• aa CRIMEAN WAR AND .INDIAN MUTINY. 283 memorate the occasion, the royal children were presented with the Swiss cottage in the grounds, for their own youthful use and behoof. Undeterred by wars and rumors of wars, the young Princes and Prin- cesses enjoyed themselves exceedingly. Each had a flower and vegetable garden, green houses, hothouses and forcing-frames, nurseties, tool- houses, and even a carpenter's shop. All worked at gardening cofv amore. On this juvenile property there was also a building, the ground-floor of which was fitted up as a kitchen, with pantries, closets, dairy, and larder; and the young Princesses might sometimes be seen arrayed a la cuisiniere, floured to the elbows, and deep in the mysteries of pastry- making, or cooking the vegetables from their own gardens, preserving, pickling, baking, etc. The Queen resolved to give all her children a useful training. She further taught them to love and appreciate nature by keeping up for their benefit a museum of natural history, furnished with curiosities collected by the royal party in their rambles and researches. The children were taught the structure of animals, plants, and birds. A thoroughly friendly alliance having been established between England and France, Prince Albert went over to Paris in September, on a special visit of some days to the Emperor Napoleon. Shortly after his return the Court proceeded to Balmoral, where the news reached it of the victory of the Alma. During this visit to Scotland the Queen lis- tened for the first time to one who was afterwards honored by her warm friendship, the Rev. Norman Macleod. His sermon greatly impressed her, while she was still more deeply mov^ by his sympathetic prayer for *^the dying, the wounded, the widow, and the orphan.** Returning from Balmoral by Edinburgh, the royal party visited Gateshead, where there had been a terrible conflagration, and Great Grimsby, with its splendid docks. All the interest of the country now centered in the war news, the Queen sharing the feeling of anxiety in all its intensity. In October came the ever-memorable charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava: Long shall the tale be told. Yea, when our babes are old — how they rode onward— through the smoke and fire that belched forth from the iron throats of the Russian cannon — how they clove their way through the Russian masses and cut down the gunners at their guns — 224 CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. how they cut their way back, "stormed at with shot and shell,'' a broken remnant of wounded and dismounted troopers, who had to report that they had failed to do that which even the demigods of ancient legend would not have been reckless enough to attempt "It was magnificent^ but it was not war,'* was the comment of the French General Bosquet on this horrible sacrifice — a sacrifice so horrible that, when it was over, even the Russians ceased firing and stood motionless and awe-stricken, gazing at the awful scene. On November 5 came the brilliant but costly victory of Inkermann, and then ensued a disastrous period of mismanagement in the Oimea.. Her Majesty thus wrote to Lord Raglan: "The sad privations of the army, the bad weather, and the constant sickness, are causes of the deepest concern and anxiety to the Queen and Prince. The braver her noble troops are, the more patiently and heroically they bear all their trials and sufferings, the more miserable we feel at their long contin- uance. The Queen trusts that Lord Raglan will be very strict in seeing that no unnecessary privations are incurred by any negligence of those Whose duty it is to watch over their wants." But the serious blunder- ing and mismanagement continued, and the only light in the gloom was the noblehearted service rendered by Florence Nightingale and the ladies who went out with her to the East as nurses. Her Majesty felt so keenly the hardships endured by the troops and the prolonged siege of Sebastopol, that when Lord Cardigan returned to England and visited her at Windsor, one of the royal children said to him: "You must hurry back to Sebastopol and take it, else it will kill mamma!" A motion for a Sebastopol inquiry was brought forward in the House of Commons by Mr. Roebuck, and this led to the dissolu- tion of the Ministry. Lord Palmerston formed a new Government, and prosecuted the war with vigor. On the 2nd of March Europe was startled by the news of the death of the Emperor Nicholas, an event due as much to the failure of his plans in the Crimea as to the chilling influences of the "Generals, January and February." The Queen and Prince visited the wounded soldiers at Chatham on the 3rd of March. During the same month a sale of water-color drawings took place in London for the benefit of the widows and orphans of offi- cers killed in the Crimea, and a clever and spirited drawing by the Princess Royal, then a girl of fifteen, was sold (amongst other pictures) for a large sum. In April the Emperor and Empress of the French 'CRIMEAN WAR 'AND INDIAN MUTINY. «86 ^ arrived at Windsor Castle on a visit to the Queen. By a curious coin- cidence the Emperor's bedroom was the same which had been occupied on previous occasions by the late Emperor Nicholas and Louis Philippe. Her Majesty has thus recorded the reception of her Imperial guests: "I cannot say what indescribable emotions filled me, how much all seemed like a wonderful dream. These great meetings of Sovereigns, surrounded by very exciting accompaniments, are always very agitating. I advanced and embraced the Emperor, who received two salutes on either cheek from me, having first kissed my hand. I next embraced the very gentle, graceful, and evidently very nervous Empress. We pre- sented the Princes (the Duke of Cambridge and the Prince of Leiningen) and our children (Vicky, with very alarmed eyes, making very low curt- sies); the Emperor embraced Bertie; and then we went upstairs, Albert leading the Empress, who in the most engaging manner refused to go first, but at length with graceful reluctance did so, the Emperor lead- ing me, expressing his great gratification at being here and seeing me, and admiring Windsor.*' The "two salutes on either cheek" which Her Majesty alludes to, gave great offense to the French Republicans, and to English sympathizers with the Republic, who spoke of Louis Napo- leon as "a villain," and "a traitor." The Queen was delighted with the Empress, finding her *^ull of cour- age and spirit, yet so gentle, with such innocence and enjouement, that the ensemble is most charming. With all her great liveliness, she has the prettiest and most modest manner." Addresses were received, and Reviews of troops were held in honor of the Emperor. There was also a grand ball in the Waterloo Room, when the Queen danced a quadrille with her Imperial visitor. She writes that the Emperor danced with great dignity and spirit, and adds: "To think that I, the granddaughter of George XXL, should dance with the Emperor Napoleon, nephew of England's greatest enemy, now my nearest and most intimate ally, in the Waterloo Room, and this ally only six years ago living in this coun- try in exile, poor and unthought of." Success gilds many careers which in themselves are neither noble nor exalted. There was a Council of War on the day after the Emperor's arrival, and subsequently he was invested with the Order of the Garter. Bishop WUberforce, who was present at the Chapter, describes Louis Napoleon as **rather mean-looking, small, and with a tendency to embonpoint; a remarkable way, as it were, of swimming up a room, with uncertain 2S6 CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUtlNY. ggit; a small gray eye, looking cunning, but with an aspect of softnem about it too. The Empress, a peculiar face from the arched eyebrows, blonde complexion; an air of sadness about her, but a person whose countenance at once interests you." A splendid banquet was given to the Emperor and Empress in the Guildhall, and the guests also went in state with the Queen and Prince to the Italian Opera. The carriages had to make their way through what was literally a sea of human beings. The audience in the Opera- house was immense, and the cheering most enthusiastic when Her Majesty led the Emperor to the front of the royal box, being followed by Prince Albert with the Empress. Next day the Queen and Prince accompanied their Imperial guests to the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. All went off well, though Her Majesty was anxious about the Emper- or's reception by the people. *1 felt, as I leant on the Emperor's arm,*' she wrote afterwards, **that I was possibly a protection to him. All thoughts of nervousness for myself were lost. I thought only of him, and so it is, as Albert says, when one forgets oneself, one loses this great and foolish nervousness.'' A second Council relating to the Crimean war was held at Windsor on the 20th of April. The Queen was present, and took such a profound interest in public affairs, that she said it was one of the most interest- ing scenes she was ever present at, and on^ which she would not have missed for the world. The Emperor and Empress left on the 21st, and the Prince Consort escorted them to Dover. A memorandum written by the Queen showed that she anticipated much, in a political sense, from the Imperial visit. A touching scene was witnessed on the 21st of May, in front of the Horse Ouards, when Her Majesty distributed medals to some of the heroes of the war in the East. Many of these gallant soldiers had been sadly injured and mutilated in their country's cause, and some were so weak they could scarcely stand to receive the medals. Tears of gratifi- cation stood in their eyes, that they should receive these honorable dis- tinctions from the Queen's own hands. Some of the officers were wheeled past Her Majesty in Bath-chairs, and one of these was young Sir Thomas Troubridge, who had had both feet carried off in battle, but who insisted on commanding his battery to the end, only desiring his limbs to be raised in order to stop the loss of blood. The Queen leaned over Sir Thomas' chair and handed him his medal, telling him that she CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. . 227 a^^pointed him one of her aides-de-camp; whereupon he replied, '^I am amply repaid for everything/' On the 18th pf August Her Majesty, accompanied by Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, an^ the Princess Royal, went oyer to France on a visit to the Emperor and Empress. Never since the infant Henry VI. was crowned at Paris in 1422, had an English Sovereign been seen in \ the beautiful French capital. The Queen's visit was therefore a remark- able event, and it was doubly significant as marking the close of the "natural enmity'' which for centuries had exasperated two hostile nations. The royal party landed at Boulogne, where they were received by the Emperor, who saluted the Queen, kissing her hand and both cheeks. It was late when the visitors made their progress through Paris, but Her Majesty saw enough of the capital to be struck by its beauty and magnificence. The Palace of St. Cloud was placed at the disposal of the Queen and Prince Albert. The following day being Sunday Her Majesty kept it as in England. On Monday, the Palais des Beaux Arts, a portion of the Oreat Exposi- tion d'Industrie, was visited. Lunch was had at the Elys^, and then N6tre Damfe, the H6tel de Ville, the Place de la Bastile, and other mem- orable places, were visited. The Queen and the members of her family quite won the hearts of the French people by their frank and winning manners. Tuesday was devoted to Versailles, with a state visit to the opera in the evening. The Emperor was completely drawn out of his usual impassiveness by the conversation of the Queen, and the interest she manifested in everything. The Municipality of Paris gave a splen- did ball in the H6tel de Ville on the evening of Thursday — a ball which is said to have surpassed in brilliancy and magnificence all previous experience. Next day there was a review of 45,000 troops in the Champ de Mars and a visit to the Hospital of the Invalides, to see the resting- place of the great Emperor Napoleon. The Palace of St. Oermains was visited on Saturday, and at night there was a grand fete at the Palace of Versailles. The illuminations were magnificent, and when they closed with a representation of the towers and battlements of Windsor Castle, there was a loud burst of applause from the spectators, succeeded by the strains of "God Save the Queen" from the orchestras. After two more days filled with delightful and imposing scenes, the royal visitors left Paris on the return journey, and proceeded to Bou- logne, where — accompanied by the Emperor — Her Majesty reviewed 228 CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. the magniflcexit army encamped on the heightfi. At nine on the follow- ing morning the English Court embarked for Osborne. Through the Earl of darendon. Her Minister in Attendance, the , Queen addressed the following official letter to Sir George Grey expres- sive of the great pleasure the visit to France had afforded her: "The Queen is profoundly sensible of the kindness with which she has been received by the Emperor and Empress, and of those manifestations of respect and cordiality on the part of the French nation by which she has everywhere been greeted. On personal and political grounds the visit to Paris has afforded tbe highest gratification to Her Majesty.'' On the last day of January, 1856, the Queen opened Parliament in person under auspicious circumstances. Two months later the war in the East was at an end, and peace was signed. London and the prov- inces rejoiced greatly over the event. Though the troops had suffered severely in the Crimea, British pluck had once more triumphed, and, together with her allies, England had gained the victory over the Rus- sians. But the struggle had been a fierce and deadly one, and peace was everywhere welcomed with enthusiasm. Lord Palmerston, who had done much to ensure the later successes of the British arms, was created a Knight, of the Garter. The Queen and Prince Albert reviewed the troops at Aldershot on the 18th of April, remaining in camp over night in a pavilion prepared for their use. At the first day's review Her Majesty wore a field-mar- shaPs uniform with the Star and Order of the Garter, and a dark blue riding-habit. She also visited the sick and wounded soldiers in the Chatham hospitals, being deeply moved by the sad cases of some of the men whom she visited in the wards. One had received four dreadful wounds in the Redan, losing both feet; another had had thirteen pieces of his skull removed; while a third had received thirty-one wounds in the cavalry action at Balaklava. The Queen distributed liberal dona- tions amongst the sufferers. On the 23rd of April she held a naval review at Spithead, which was on an unprecedented scale, both as to the amount of force engaged and the number of spectators attracted. Addresses were moved to the Queen by both Houses of Parliament on the conclusion of the war and the signing of peace, and in the Upper House I^rd EUesmere, the mover, gave utterance to the national senti- ment when he referred to the deep debt of gratitude which the country owed to Florence Nightingale. The Lords and Commons went in pro- CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. 229 cession to Buckingham Palace to present their addresses to the Queen, and Her Majesty subsequently gave a State ball to celebrate the peace. Some days later she laid the foundation-stone of the military hospital ' at Netley. Her Majesty paid another visit to Aldershot in July, and reviewed the troops returned from the Crimea. As the officers and four men of each of the regiments which had been under fire '^stepped out^* of the ranks, the Queen stood up in her carriage and thus addressed them: "Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, I wish personally to convey through you to the regiments assembled here this day my hearty welcome on their return to England in health and full efficiency. Say to them that I have watched anxiously over the difficulties and hard- ships which they have so nobly borne, that I have mourned with deep sorrow for the brave men who have fallen in their country's cause, and that I have felt proud of that valor which, with their gallant allies, they have displayed on every field. I thank God that your dangers are over, while the glory of your deeds remains; but I know that should your services be again required, you will be animated with the same devotion which in the Crimea has rendered you invincible." A great cry of "God save the Queen" rent the air when the mellifluous voice became silent; helmets, bearskins and shakos were thrown aloft, and the Dragoons rendered the scene still more picturesque by waving their sabers. In September, 1857, came the terrible news of the mutiny in India, and the massacre at Cawnpore. The intelligence of the dramatic relief of Lucknow alleviated the gloom to some extent, but the Queen was sorely distressed at the severity of the measures adopted to avenge the native cruelties. In the following year (August 2), the act for the trans- ference of the government of India from the Company to the Grown became a law. It was needful that Her Majesty should by proclamation inform her Indian subjects of the change in their relation to the Sover- eign of Great Britain, and it was of great importance that the proclama- tion should be worded with the nicest care for the superstitions, prejudices, and sensibilities of the ignorant and suspicious peoples to whom it would be addressed. The draft proclamation that was submitted by Lord Malmesbury to the Queen was a graceless and indiscreet composition, that would certainly have resulted in mischief had it been published in Her Majes- ty's name as the work of her mind and hand. On perusing it, the Queen 230 'CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MUTINY. saw at once that it could not be amended into a eatisfactory manifesto^ and Blie therefore directed that it should be withheld. She at once wrote a letter to her premier, in which she suggested with fine tact that he should write a fit proclamation with his own hand. ^The Queen," she remarked, ^would be glad if Lord Derby would write it himself in his excellent language, bearing in mind that it is a female Sovereign who speaks to more than a hundred millions of Eastern people on assuming the direct government over them, and after a bloody civil war, giving them pledges which her future reign is to redeem, and explaining the principles of her government.^ Thus delicately handled and put upon his mettle. Lord Derby pro- duced the masterly composition that was sent out to India as a solemn declaration of Her Majesty's intentions and feelings, after she had amended it in a few particulars. On the 25th of January, 1858, the Princess Boyal was married to Prince Frederick William of Prussia, father of the present Emperor of Germany. For days before, the ceremony had been the common topic of conversation in society. The Princess was very popular, and the many splendid gifts she received were some slight evidence of this popularity. This, the first wedding in the Queen's family, was attended with all the little home touches which made Her Majesty's life so charming. She and the Prince themselves arranged the bride^s presents to be viewed by their friends. The details of the marriage ceremony were identical with those of the Queen's own wedding. She called it the ^^second most eventful day" in her life, and said that she felt as if she were **being married over again herself." The very youthful bride looked charming in her white silk and orange blossoms, with the famous myrtle in her bouquet, a shoot of which, planted at Osborne, has grown into a tree which supplies the royal brides of the present time. The marriage was celebrated, like the Queen's, at the Chapel Boyal St. James' Palace, and took place on the 25th of January, 1858. A pretty little scene was enacted when, as the bride advanced to the altar, the bridegroom knelt to kiss her hand. Unlike her royal mother, the young Princess had to leave home and kindred for a foreign land, and the parting, after the brief honeymoon at Windsor, was a heart-breaking one for all. The Princess had said to her mother, "I think it will kill me to say good-bye to papa;" and when the time came for her to sail for Germany, the poor young bride — clever, wilful, independent / ' CRIMEAN WAR AND INDIAN MVTItiV. 281 "Vicky" of the old days — was quite broken down. The Queen did not trust herself to see her daughter off, and those who saw the Prince Con- sort's white, rigid face as he took his last look at the departing vessel have said that they can never forget its look of sadness. When the Princess was saying good-bye to th^ old people about Balmoral, one old ^^body" up and spoke her mind to the Queen, and expressed her opinion that the Princess Royal was as sorry to leave as they were to part with her; then suddenly recollecting herself, she apologiased, saying, ^^I mean no harm, but I always say just what I think, not what is fut" (fit). The Queen's comment on the incident was **Dear old lady, she is such a pleasant person." Her Majesty disliked above everything, cringing servility, and delighted in those honest, candid people who say what they think, not what is "fut." In the following August the Queen and Prince C5onsort visited their daughter in her new home, and the Queen was rejoiced to find her "quite the old Vicky still;" but in taking leave of her after a pleasant stay in Germany, the royal mother felt sad that it was impossible for her to return again to the young Princess at that critical time when "every other mother goes to her child." On the 27th of January, 1859, the Princess Frederick William was confined of a son, the present Emperor William, and Her Majesty found herself at thirty-nine with the ancient dignity of "grandmamma" conferred upon her. In September of 1860 the Queen and Prince spent some time in Coburg, and were visited by ^'Vicky" and "Fritz" and the wonderful "baby William," who was duly brought to grandmamma's room every morning, and was pro- nounced "such a darling." But the time had come when the shadow of death encompassed the life of the beloved Queen. Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, had been for some time in declining health, and in March of 1861 the Queen was gununoned to Frogmore, and found her in a dying condition. She pasfsed peacefully away, solaced by the daughter whom she had reared with unsurpassed love and care, and to whom her death came as the first great grief in life. "What a blessed end!" the Queen writes in her diary; "her gentle spirit at rest, her sufferings over! But I — ^I, wretched child — ^who had lost the mother I so tenderly loved, from whom for these forty-one years I had never been parted except for a few weeks — what was my case? My. childhood — everything seemed to crowd upon me at once. I seemed to have lived through a life, to have become old I" CHAPTER IX. THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. ninesB of ttie Prinoe Consortr-^Ciiil War In the United State»-Tlie Trent Affidr, and the Complications which tirew ont of It— How the ({neen and the Prince Consort Aierted Probable War—A Widowed Qneen— Funeral of the Prinoe Consort— Eastern Tonr of the Prince of Wales— The International Exhibition— Marriage of the Prinoe of Wales— The qaeen Tislts Netley Hospital— She Unreils a Statue of the Prince Consort— Tisit to Cler* many— She <>pens the Session of Her SerMith Parliament— War in QertoMnj. THERE is a melancholy interest attached to all the details connected with the sickness and death of the Prince Consort The grim destroyer often strikes waywardly; those who desire to live are taken, and those who are ready for death are left But In the case of the Prince death found him ready; he was perfectly prepared for the end. It is said that not long before his fatal illness he said to the Queen: "I do not cling to life. You do; but I set no store by it If I knew those I love were well cared for, I should be quite ready to die to-morrow." It has never been accurately ascertained how the fever under which he sank originated; but it is strongly sur- mised that the first predisposing cause was the Princess visit to Sand- hurst on the 22nd of November. He went to inspect the buildings for the new Staff College and Military Academy, and as the day was one of incessant rain, he suffered from exi)osure and fatigue. Next day came the distressing news of the death of the young King of Portugal, and other members of his family, from malignant typhoid fever; and this intelligence weighed heavily upon the Princess spirits. On the 24th, which was Sunday, the Prince complained of being full of rheumatic pains, and wrote in his diary that he had scarcely closed his eyes for the past fortnight. Next morning, although the weather was cold and stormy, he journeyed to Cambridge to visit the Prince of Wales. He still got worse; and political questions which grew out of the Civil War then in progress in the United States were a source of great anxiety. It was a period of uncertainty in the relations of the two countries, the governing classes of England largely favoring the South- ern States and the masses remaining in sympathy with the North. Per- THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. 233 haps more than to any other influence it was due to Queen Victdria and the Prince Consort that there was no outbreak of war between Great Britain and the United States. In November, 1861, Captain Wilkes, of the San Jacinto, an American man-of-war, intercepted the British mail steamship Trent outside the Havana harbor, and took from that vessel Messrs. Mason and Slidell, Envoys of the Confederate Government, accredited respectively to England and France. They had run the blockade from Charleston to Cuba and were on their way to Europe. Upon first receipt of the news in the United States the country was delighted at this evidence of cour- age, but it soon became evident that the matter was more serious and would need to be treated delicately in order to avoid war with the powers. That Captain Wilkes, of the San Jacinto, had violated interuational law was indisputable. Should he be found to have actM in the matter under general or particular authority from his Government, war was almost certain. Even if the American captain should have acted with- out authority, the most serious difficulties might result from his rasb action. The prevailing opinion of Englishmen was that, though she would show her usual respect for international law and admit the captain's error, America might take exception to the tone of the British demand, and on that ground decline to render a satisfactory apology. War is in the air when a proud, sensitive and greatly powerful nation demands an apology from a nation no less powerful, sensitive and proud. For manifest reasons. Her Majesty was especially desirous that her demand on America should be made with delicate care for American sensibility, and should take as far as possible the form of a respectful appeal to the honor and justice of the American people. On November 30, 1861, the Queen received from her Foreign Secre- tary the drafts of several despatches, which it was proposed to send to Lord Lyons, her Ambassador at Washington; and it appeared both to Her Majesty and the Prince O)nsort that the most important of these drafts — ^the draft for the despatch touching the Trent affair — was maladroit and insufficiently considerate for the sensitiveness of the American Government. As it expressed neither a hope that Captain Wilkes would be found to have exceeded his instructions, nor a belief that the American Government would offer Her Majesty sufficient redress, the despatch might be read at Washington as implying that 284 THE QUEEN ^ AND THE UNITED STATES. Her Majesty's Ministers were unable to entertain either the belief or the hope. The despatch's silence on these points might operate as an oflFensive suggestion. On the other hand, if it were amended so as to show a disposition on the part 6t the British Government to take the most favorable view of the matter, the despatch would conciliate Amer- ican sentiment and render it easy for the Washington Government to retire with dignity from a position of extreme embarrassment. The Prince Consort, notwithstanding his dangerous illness, drafted a letter for the Queen *^o write to Lord Russell in correction of his draft- despatch to Lord Lyons" — ^a letter drawn in accordance with the con- clusions to which he and Her Majesty came after a night spent in care- ful consideration of the momentous aflFair. However, the Queen did not adopt this draft without amending it in several particulars. Having so amended it, she copied it with her own hand and sent the transcript to Lord Russell. A facsimile of the Prince Consort's draf t^letter appears in Sir Theodore Martin's Life of the Prince Consort, where it is also shown how the suggestions and almost the very words of the draft- letter were adopted by the Government, and worked into a dispatch to Lord Lyons — ^the conciliatory despatch which afforded Mr. Secretary Seward so much relief and satisfaction, because it was ^^courteous and friendly, — not dictatorial and menacing." Indeed, the amended des- patch was not devoid of menace, for it contained these strong and reso- lute words: **For the Government of the United States must be aware that the British Government could not allow such an aflFront to the national honor to pass without full reparation;" but these resolute words were associated with friendly avowals of the British Govern- ment's confidence that the American Government would do what was right. Apart from its testimony to the Prince Consort's share in the pro- duction of the despatch that probably prevented war between Great Britain and the United States, Sir Theodore Martin's facsimile has claims on the student's consideration. It is an example of the way in which the Queen and her political secretary discharged one of the most important functions of their joint sovereignty. On seeing reason for dissatisfaction with a draft-despatch sent to them from the Foreign Office, they first consulted together and came to one mind respecting the changes to be made in the document. In his purely secretarial capacity, the Prince Consort then drafted the letter, setting forth their The QtlEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. m joint cdnduBionSy as though the opinions of the two associates were the opinions of the one constitutional sovereign. After considering this draft-note, and amending its minor details, the Queen copied it with her own hand, so that it had the appearance of being her separate and inde- pendent performance, and sent the transcript to the Minister. It re- mained of course with the responsible Ministers to decide to what ex- tent they should adopt the suggestions of the note. In some cases the Cabinet declined to act in accordance with Her Majesty^s recommenda- tions. But usually they yielded to her judgment; and after doing so on momentous /]uestions like the grave question of peace or war with America, it has again and again happened that they had occasion to congratulate themselves on taking her wise and dispassionate counsel. Moreover, the facsimile of the joint-draft given to the world in Sir Theodore Martin's book is peculiarly interesting as a memorial of the last piece of work done by the Prince Consort for the advantage of his adopted country — for the advantage of the people whom he served fio faithfully, whilst some of his fellow-countrymen were quick to suspect his integrity. When he put the draft-note into the Queen's hands on Sunday, December 1, 1861, the Prince Consort spoke of the difficulty he had experienced in guiding the pen with which he made the writing. In speaking of his illness the Prince said it was well it was not fever, **as that, he felt sure, would be fatal to him." Lord Palmerston, who was not one as a rule to take gloomy views, was so alarmed by what he heard at the castle, that he suggested the calling in Df another physi- cian. Dr. Jenner and Sir James Clark, however, rer.ssured the Queen with the hope that the fever which was feared might pass off. There was nothing now left to do but to wait and hope for the best; but unfortunately the Prince lost strength daily, and there would soihe- times be a ^^strange wild look" upon his face. He would smile when his pet child. Princess Beatrice, was brought to him, but his most constant companion was the Princess Alice. Fever now unmistakably declared itself, and a knowledge of the unfavorable change could no longer be kept from the Queen. On December 8 the sufferer was moved into a more commodious room, and as fate would have it, it was the very room in which both William IV. and George IV. had died. As the days went by, the Prince became gradually weaker, and the last hope was at length abandoned. On the morning of December 14, surrounded by 238 THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES, members of the royal family, he passed to "where beyond these voices there is peace." Queen Victoria kneeling at the death-bed of her "dear lord and mas- ter," as she ever called the Prince Consort, will remain one of the most pathetic scenes in the history of Great Britain. Queen she remained to the end^ in spite of her woman's anguish. When the last sigh was heaved, and the spirit of her beloved had fled, she gently loosed the hand which she had held as he passed through the valley of the shadow of death, saw the lids closed over the eyes which to the last had turned their love-light upon her, rose from the bedside, thanked the physicians for their skill and attention, spoke some soothing words to her orphaned children sobbing around the bed, and, walking from the room calm and erect, sought the solitude of her chamber, and went through her Geth- semane alone. » Away in the city the great bell of St. PauPs tolled the sad tidings through the midnight air, and next morning — Sunday — it seemed that a pall had fallen over the land, and there was scarce a dry eye in the churches when the Prince Consort's name was significantly omitted from the Litany, and the lyinisters impressively paused in the prayer for "the fatherless children and widows, and all that are desolate and op- pressed." To many, indeed, this was the first intimation of the great loss which the monarch and the country had sustained. As the awe- struck worshippers dispersed they gathered in little knots, and spoke in whispers of t/ie grief-stricken wife at Royal Windsor, recalled her joy-days, when, gi y as a lark, she had entered the Abbey on her corona- tion day, or walked from the altar a proud and happy bride, and again had hung with a mother's love over the cradle of her little ones; and now, in the heyday of life and happiness she was a widowed Queen, more desolate by reason of her exalted position than any woman in the land, similarly bereft. That angel of comfort. Princess Alice, whose lovely character all the world reveres, was the support of her mother in this time of sorrow. She was aided in her ministrations by Lady Augusta Bruce (afterwards the wife of Dean Stanley), who had been the beloved friend and attendant of the Duchess of Kent in her last years; and by that other dear friend of the Queen, the Duchess of Suth- erland, herself but lately a widow, who was specially summoned by her royal mistress to stay with her at this time of bereavement. Anxious days and nights were passed by these devoted ladies in the Queen's THE QUEEN AND THk UNITED STATES. 287 I room, for the reaction from the enforced restraint had been so great that Her Majesty was completely prostrated, and her pulse became so weak at one time that death appeared imminent. It is scarcely realized to-day how near the country was to a double tragedy, and when the tidings were flashed through the land that at last the Queen had ob- tained some hours' sleep it seemed like the joy-bells succeeding the funeral peal. The feelings of the people were beautifully expressed by Mrs. Oosland in her poem: "Sleep, for the night is round thee spread. Thou daughter of a line of kings; Sleep, widowed Queen, while angels' wings Make canopy above thy head! "Sleep, while a million prayers rise up To Him who knew all earthly sorrow, That day by day each soft to-morrow May melt the bitter from thy cup." When the first agony of her grief was over, the Queen summoned her children around her, and told them that, though she felt crushed by her loss, she knew what her position demanded, and asked them to help her in fulfilling her duty to the country and to them. Little Prince Leopold, the delicate one of the Queen's bairns, who was at this time at Cannes for his health, when told that his father was dead, cried pite- ously, "Do take me to my mamma;" and that old-fashioned little tot. Baby Beatrice, would climb on her mother's knee to look at "mamma's sad cap." Fearing the worst consequences should Her Majesty have another relapse, the physicians were urgent that she should leave Windsor before the funeral took place; but the Queen cried bitterly at the suggestion, saying that her subjects never left their homes or the remains of their dear ones at such times, and why should she. It was only when Princess Alice represented to her that the younger children might suffer if they remained in the fever-tainted Castle that she con- sented to go with them to Osborne. Before leaving she drove to Frog- more, where only ten months before she laid to rest her devoted mother, and walking round the gardens on the arm of Princess Alice, chose a bright sunny spot to bury her dead. The same feeling which led the Queen to create homes of her own, apart from the royal palaces, prompted her to have a family burying-place. With a truly democratic 238 THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. spirit. Her Majetty preserved her own individuality, and declined to be considered a mere royalty, whose affairs were to be regulated by the State, and whos^ body must lie in a cold and dreary royal vault, along with kings and queens for whom she cared nothing at all. When the sad time came, England's greatest monarch lay beside her mother and husband in the beautiful Ood's acre of her own choosing. The funeral of the Prince Conswt took place^ with the honors befitting so great and good a Prince, on the 23d of December, 1861, the coffin being temi)or- arily placed at the entrance to St. George's Chapel, Windsor, until the beautiful mausoleum had been built at Progmore; upon the lid were laid wreaths of green moss and violets, made by the Queen and Prin- cess Alice. The uiimistakable reality of the sorrow at the funeral was very striking, and was manifested, not only by the heartbroken sobs of the young ftinces, but by the tears of veteran statesmen and ambassa- dors mingling with those who were of royal kin. Though there can be no doubt that the Prince had won for himself a place in the hearts of those present, one feels that the tears flowed as much in sympathy for her who sorrowed as for him who was gone. In reading the letters and memoirs of courtiers of this period, it is evident that they felt that the Queen had well-nigh received her death-blow; all speak of her calm, pathetic sorrow being heartbreaking to witness. Amongst others. Lord Shaftesbury writes at this time: ^^The desolation of the Queen's heart and life, the death-blow to her happiness on earth! Ood in His mercy sustain and comfort! The disruption of domestic existence, unprece- dented in royal history, the painful withdrawal of a prop, the removal of a counsellor, a friend in all public and private affairs, the sorrows she has, the troubles that await her — all rend my heart as though the suffering were my own." Her Majesty spent the first three months of her widowhood in abso- lute retirement at Osborne, where she was greatly comforted by her beloved half-sister, the Princess Hohenlohe, who had hastened from Germany to her side. The Princess told Dean Stanley that the Queen found ^'her only comfort in the belief that her husband's spirit was close beside her — ^for he had promised her that it should be so;" and she further related that the Queen would go each morning to visit the cows on the Prince's model farm, because he used to .do it, and she fancied the gentle creatures would miss him. King Leopold of Belgium, ever Her Majesty's support and counsellor, as he had* been that of her widowed THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. 241 mother, was also at Osborne at this time; but even with near and trusted relations certain reserve and etiquette had to be observed by the Queen, and one can understand the bitterness of her cry, "There is no one left to call me ^Victoria' now." Mother and husband hfid both been taken within a year, and the old royal family, those elderly aunts and uncles who had been about her in her youth, were passing one by one into the silent land. The Prince of Wales was not of an age to take any responsible position, and shortly after his fathei^s death set out, in accordance with the Prince Consort's plans, which the Queen would not have put on one side, for a prolonged tour in the Elast, accompanied by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (Dean of Westminster). The Queen's eldest daughter was bound by the ties of her German home, and it was there- fore upon Princess Alice that everything devolved during those first terrible weeks. The nation has never forgotten the tact and judgment in dealing with Ministers and officials, in the Queen's place, shown by this young girl of eighteen, and her remarkable conduct called forth a special article in the Times. The advocates of modern funeral reform might complain that Her Majesty was too punctilious in her outward signs of mourning; but, as she once playfully said to Lord Melbourne in her young days, ^^What is the use of being a queen if you cannot do as you like?" It is said that she refused to sign a commission because the paper was not bordered with black; and we know that for at least eight years after the Prince Consort's death the royal servants wore a band of crepe upon the left arm, while in her own attire Her Majesty never, throughout the suc- ceeding years of her widowhood, wore any but mourning colors. Gradually the sovereign began to evince a renewed interest in State affairs, and the Princess Alice was made th,e principal medium of com- municatioA between her and her Ministers. On May 1 the International Exhibition was opened, amid much pomp and ceremony. In his inau- guration ode, the poet laureate thus happily recalled Prince Albert's deep interest in these peaceful triumphs of art and commerce: **0, silent father of our kings to be. Mourned in this golden hour of jubilee, For this, for all, we weep our thanks to thee!" The marriage of Princess Alice to Prince Louis of Hesse, which had been delayed by the Prince Consort's death, took place at Osborne on "^//^^ M2 THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. July 1, the ceremony being of a priyate character. The Archbishop of iTork officiated; and the Queen attended in deep mourning, and with- ovt a vestige of state. In August the court went to Balmoral; and, on the 21st of that month, the Queen droye in a little carriage to cooperate with six of her children in laying the foundation of a cairn in memory of the Prince Consort, — the cairn, forty feet wide and thirty-five feet high, that, overlooking the valley, reminds wayfarers of a lofty nature and noble life. In the following month the Queen went to Belgium and Germany, taking with her those of her children who were under her personal control. It was at this time that Her Majesty first met the Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who was soon to become the Princess of Wales. On December 18, the fourth day after the first anniversary of his death, the body of the Prince Consort was removed from St George's Chapel, in the presence of the Prince of Wales, Prince Arthur, Prince' Leopold, and Prince Louis of Hesse, and placed in the mauso- leum at Frogmore, the royal tomb erected by Her Majesty at a cost of more than £200,000, paid out of her privy purse. On March 10, 1863, the Queen witnessed from the royal closet the brilliant celebration of the Prince of Wales' wedding with the Princess Alexandra of Denmark in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Oastle, and in her widow's dress received the bridal pair at the entrance of the castle, on their return from the ceremony at the chapel. An event that stirred Her Majesty's heart no less deeply than the wedding of her son took place on Easter Sunday, April 6. On that day the Princess Alice, who had been staying in England since the middle of the preceding November, gave birth to her first-bom child at Windsor Castle. On May 9 Her Majesty paid a long visit to the military hospital at Netley, the foundation-stone of which she laid seven years before. On that occasion she had been accompanied by the Prince Oonsort, who took great interest in the Hospital, and afterwards visited it many times. This later visit by the Queen was strictly private. Before she went into the hospital, Her Majesty went first to view the foundation- stone. She bore the visit firmly, though she was evidently moved by painful reminiscences. Subsequently she went through a great many of the wards. In one ward an old soldier from India lay nearly at the point of death. When the Queen had spoken to him, he said: "I thank God that He has allowed me to live long enough to see your Majesty yrith my own eyes." The Queen and the Princess Alice were much ' WE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. 243 touched by his speech, which evidently came from the heart. As Her Majesty passed along, the corridors were thronged with Indian inva- lids, fine old soldiers, bearded and bronzed, some of whom were over- come witli emotion at the kindly recognition of their sovereign. The women^s quarters were next visited, and altogether the Queen walked over several miles of ground. Wherever she went her royal and womanly bearing deeply affected all who were honored by her kindly notice and attention. Her Majesty paid a visit to Belgium and Germany in August and September, being accompanied by the Princesses Helena and Beatrice and Princes Alfred and Leopold. The royal party crossed over from Greenhithe to Antwerp in the Victoria and Albert. The King of the Belgians received the Queen and her children at Scharbeck, and drove with them to Laeken. Prom thence the royal party traveled to the Castle of Bosenau, near Ooburg, where Her Majesty made a considerable stay, and where she was joined by the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, and Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse. Though shattered in health, the Queen received visits from the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria. Leaving Bosenau on the 7th of September, the Queen spent a day with her daughter, the Princess Alice, and her family, at Eranichstein, near Darmstadt, and then returned to England. The following month Her Majesty was again at Balmoral, where she erected the Cairn to the Prince Consort on the Craig Lowrigan. "I and my poor six orphans,'' she writes, ^^all placed stones on it, and our ini- tials, as well as those of the three absent ones." Below the inscription is the beautiful motto from the Apocrypha chosen by the Princess Royal: ^He being made perfect in a short time fulfilled a long time; For his soul pleased the Lord. Therefore hastened He to take him away from among the wicked.'' During the first years of her widowhood the Queen could not bear to listen to music, still less to take part in its performance, which had hitherto been such a delight to her; neither did she feel able to amuse herself with her favorite pastime of sketching. Mr. Leitch, the artist, who was drawing-master to the Queen and royal family for twenty-two years, describes in a letter to his mother the sadly altered life at Bal- moral at this period. He writes: ^'The Queen is still the kind, good. 244 THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. gracious lady that she always was; but I need hardly tell you that there is a change. Indeed the whole place is changed. Everything very quiet and still. How dififerent from my first visit here — ^the joyous bustle in the morning when the Prince went out; the Highland ponies and the dogs; the gillies and the pipers coming home; the Queen and her ladies going out to meet them; and the merry time afterwards; the torchlight sword dances on the green^ and the servants' ball closing.^ An alarming accident happened to the Queen on the 7th of October, as she was returning with the Princesses Alice and Helena from an expedition to Altnagiuthasac. The usual coachman, Smith, was driving the royal party, but after proceeding about two miles in the darkness, though along a good road, the carriage turned over on its side, and all the occupants were precipitated to the ground. Her Majesty came down very'hard, with her face upon the ground. Both horses were also down, and the scene was one of danger and anxiety. John Brown called out in despair, "The Lord Almighty have mercy on us! Who did ever see the like of this before? I thought you were all killed." The Princesses were entangled by their clothing, but were eventually released without Injury. The traces of the carriage were cut, and the horses got up unhurt. The ladies then sat down in the carriage, covered with plaids. The Queen's face was a good deal bruised and swollen, and a little claret was all that could be got to bathe it with. After sitting for some half hour in the dark, a servant who had gone on before with the ponies, feeling alarmed lest a disaster should have occurred, returned to the spot with the ponies. The Queen and her daughters then rode home. No one at Balmoral knew what had happened, but Her Majesty told her sons-in-law, the Crown Prince of Prussia and Prince Louiis of Hesse, who had long been awaiting the arrival of the party. A few days afterwards the Queen went to Aberdeen to unveil the statue of the Prince Consort. She has left on record how terribly nervous she was, and that she longed not to have to go through the ordeaL Her Majesty was accompanied by the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse, Princesses Helena and Louise and Princes Arthur and Leopold. The day was very wet There was a long, sad, and melancholy procession through the crowded streets of Aberdeen, where all were kindly, yet where all were silent The Queen trembled during the ceremony, which was the first she had attended in public since her husband's death. An address was presented, and Her f.!^ THE Q UEEN AND THE UNI TED ST A TES. !?46 Majesty knighted the Provost, a reply being afterwards forwarded to the address. The Princess statue, by Marochetti, was considered to be vei?y faithful and lifelike. After it had been unveiled, the Queen, who appeared much depressed, sca^nned it for some time narrowly. On the 14th of December, the anniversary of the Prince's death, the Queen, accompanied by all the members of the royal family, proceeded at an early hour from Windsor Castle to the Royal Mausoleum at Frog- more, where a devotional service was held. This was afterward observed as an annual custom, and all the members of the household, including the servants, were likewise permitted to pay their tribute of respect to the memory of the Prince. This wonderfully beautiful tomb, as the Princess Alice described it, with all its elaborate decorations, was erected at a cost of upwards of £200,000, which was entirely defrayed from Her Majesty's privy purse. A joyful but unexpected event occurred at Frogmore on the 8th of January, 1864, when the Princess of Wales was prematurely confined of a son, Prince Albert Victor. There was no nurse in attendance, and no preparation had been made for the advent of "the litfle stranger," who had not been expected until March. The Queen was immediately apprised of the happy news of the birth of a direct heir to the Crown. The Prince was christened at Buckingham Palace on the first anniver- sary of his parents' marriage. The Princess of Wales made a speedy recovery, and congratulations poured in upon the Prince and Princess, and also upon the Queen, on the birth of the infant Prince. Her Majesty's birthday was kept in May, 1864, with all the old tokens of state and rejoicing, an event which had not been observed since 1861. There were the usual salutes from the Tower and the Park, and a grand review of the household troops on the parade behind the Horse Guards. In the following August, on her way to Balmoral, the Queen inaugurated a statue of the Prince Consort at Perth. She was accompanied on this occasion by several members of her family, and by the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In the following year. Prince Alfred, on attain- ing his majority, was formally adopted by the Duke of Saxe-Coburg as his heir. On the 1st of January, 1865, the Queen once more manifested her solicitude for her subjects by causing a letter to be written to the direc- tors of the leading railway companies, calling attention to the increasing number of accidents which had lately occurred on various lines of rail- 24G THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. road, "It is not for her own safety/* wrote Sir Charles Phipps, <*that the Queen has wished to provide in thus calling the attention of the company to the late disasters; Her Majesty is aware that when she travels extraordinary precautions are taken; but it is on account of her family, and those traveling upon her service, and of the people gener- ally, that she expresses the hope that the same security may he insured for all as is so carefully provided for herself. The Queen hopes it is unnecessary for her to recall to the recollection of the railway directors the heavy responsibility which they have assumed since they have suc- ceeded in securing the monopoly of the means of traveling of almost the entire population of the country." This letter received from the press and from the directors of the various railway companies the atten- tion which its importance deserved. Her Majesty visited the Consumption Hospital at Brompton on the 14th of March, going through the four galleries called respectively the "Victoria,^ the "Albert,'' the "Foulis,'' and the "Jenny lind.'' She entered many of the wards, si)eaking to several of the bed-ridden patients, and bestowing kindly smiles and sympathizing looks upon all; and then she visited in turn the chapel, the vestry, the library, and the kitchens. When England was startled by the sad news of the assassination of Abra)iam Lincoln, the Queen wrote with her own hand a touching letter of condolence to the widow of the late President. Addresses upon the untoward event were presented to the Crown by the two Houses of Parliament, and to these addresses Her Majesty returned the following reply: "I entirely participate in the sentiments you have expressed in your address to me on the subject of the assassination of the President of the United States, and I have given directions to my Minister at Washington to make known to the Government of that country the fedings which you entertain, in common with myself and my whole people, with regard to this deplorable event.'* On the 8th of August the Queen left England on a visit to Germany, accompanied by Prince Leopold and the Princesses Helena, Louise and Beatrice. The illustrious party embarked at the Royal Arsenal pier on board the steam yacht Alberta, under the command of Prince Leiningen. Coburg was reached on the 11th, and the Queen at once proceeded to Rosenau. The birthday of the Prince Consort was celebrated by the inauguration of a costly monument to his memory at Coburg. It took THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. 247 the shape of a gilt bronze statue, ten feet high^ which was unveiled in the public square of the town. On the conclusion/ of the ceremony; the Queen, accompanied by her children, walked across the square, and handed to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg a large bouquet of flowers, which. he laid on the pedestaL All the children did the same, until the flowers rose to the feet of the statue. Princess Alice writes of the "terril^le suf- ferings'' of the first three years of the Queen's widowhood, but adds that after the long storm came rest, so that the daughter could tenderly remind the mother, without reopening the wound, of the happy silver ^wedding which might have bjeen this year, when the royal parents would have been surrounded by so many grandchildren in fresh young house* holds. The royal family returned from Germany on the 8th of Septem- ber, visiting King Leopold at Ostend on the journey. Her Majesty spent September and October in the Highlands. In addition to an expedition to Invermark she went to Dunkeld on a visit to the Duchess of Athole. This visit was strictly private, and the Queen found comfort in the companionship of the Duchess, who, like herself, had been bereaved of her husband. **The life was even quieter than at Balmoral. Her Majesty breakfasted with the daughter who accom- panied her, lunched and dined with the Princess, Duchess, and one or more ladies. There were long drives, rides, and rows on the lochs, some- times in mist and rain, among beautiful scenery, like that which had been a solace in the days of deepest sorrow; tea amongst the bracken or the heather, or in some wayside house; friendly chats, peaceful read- ings." In October the popular Premier, Lord Palmerston, died, and the Queen keenly felt his loss, forgetting the intractability he had displayed some years before. But the year 1865 closed with a much greater per- sonal loss than this: on the 9th of December Her Majesty's uncle, King Lieopold, passed away at the age of seventy-six. In the deceased King, Queen Victoria not only mourned a dear relative, but a faithful friend and counsellor — one whose sympathy and advice had been constant and unfailing ever since she ascended the throne. The first occasion on which Her Majesty attended any State cere- mony after the death of the Prince Consort was on the 6th of February, 1866, when she opened the first session of her seventh Parliament. The event attracted much attention, and gave great satisfaction. Enthu- siastic crowds lined the whole route of the procession to the Houses of 248 THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. Parliament. In the House of Lords the scene was one of great splendor, peers and peeresses being resplendent in their robes and jewels. After prayers had been read by the Bishop of Ely, at a signaWrom the Usher of the Black Bod the whole assembly rose en masse — peers, peeresses, bishops, judges, and the foreign ambassadors — ^to receive the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Princess was escorted to the place of honor on the woolsack, immediately fronting the throne. Shortly afterwards the whole assembly rose again; the door to the right of the throne was flung open, and the Queen entered, preceded by the State officials. Her Majesty, who was attired in half-mourning, walked with slow steps to the throne, stopping on the way to shake hands with the Princess of Wales. The Queen wore a deep purple velvet robe trimmed with white miniver, and a white lace cap a la Marie Stuart; around her neck was a collar of brilliants, and over her breast the blue riband of the Order of the Garter. During the proceedings and the reading of the royal speech the Queen sat silent and motionless, with her eyes fixed upon the ground. She appeared wrapt in contemplation, and was doubtless moved by reminiscences of the time when she stood, proud and happy, with her husband by her side, and took an active part in this august ceremony. When the Lord Chancellor had concluded the reading of the speech. Her Majesty rose from the throne, stepped slowly down, kissed the Prince of Wales, (who sat almost at her feet, and shook hands with Prince Christian. Escorted by the heir to the Crown, and followed by the Prin- cess of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, the Queen retired by the door at which she had entered, with the usual ceremonies in which heralds and Garter kings-of-arms delight. A new decoration, styled the Albert Medal, was instituted by royal sign-manual in March. It was to be awarded to those who should, after the date of the warrant, endanger their own lives in saving, or endeavor- ing to save, the lives of others from shipwreck or other peril of the sea. On the 13th of March, for the first time during five years, the Queen visited the camp at Aldershot, and reviewed the troops in garrison. She was accompanied by Princess Helena and the Princess Hohenlohe. The inspection was followed by a grand march past of the regiments, and then the royal party drove through the South Camp by way of the Prince Consort's library to the artillery and cavalry barracks, and by the main road past the Memorial Church to the Pavilion, where luncheon was served. In the afternoon there was a review of the cavalry, artillery, Hknbt VIII. Gate, Windsor Castle OXE OF THE Cf>nRltM>I|s AT WlNHSOR CASTLE flbowtQf uiai-blp bums or thrmtr muglUh Kings auC Queeos, THE yQUEEN AND THE, UNITED STATES. 353 pontoon, and military trains. Not long afterwards Her Majesty paid a second visit to Aldershot, the cause of this latter visit being the presen- tation of a new pair of colors to the gallant Eighty-ninth Begiment, in lieu of the battered shreds which the corps had with great distinction borne in all parts of the world for the past thirty-three years. The eminent American philanthropist, Mr. Peabody, having about this time added to his splendid gift for the improvement of the dwellings of the poor of London another munificent donation, the Queen signified ber intention of presenting him with a miniature portrait of herself, specially painted. She would gladly have conferred upon him either a baronetcy or the Grand GSross of the Order of the Path, but he felt him- self debarred from accepting such distinctions. In thanking the Queen for the honor done him for his efforts in connection, with the poor of liOndon, Mr. Peabody wrote: "Next to the approval of my own con- science, I shall always prize the assurance which Your Majesty's letter conveys to me of the approbation of the Queen of England, whose whole life has attested that her exalted station has in no degree diminished her sympathy with the humblest of her subjects. The portrait which Tour Majesty is graciously pleased to bestow on me I shall value as the most precious heirloom that I can leave in the land of my birth, where, together with the letter which Your Majesty has addressed to me, it will ever be regarded as an evidence of the kindly feeling of the Queen of the United Kingdom towards a citizen of the United States." Two marriages were celebrated in the royal circle in 1866. The first was that of the Princess Mary of Cambridge to Prince Teck, which took place at the village church of Kew on the 12th of June. The Queen was present, and looked remarkably well, but it was noticed that she was attired in mourning so deep that not even a speck of white relieved the somberness. On the 5th of July Her Majesty's third daughter, the Princess Helena, was married in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle^ to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the bride being in her twenty- first and the bridegroom in his thirty-sixth year. The Princess was accompanied to the altar by her mother and the Prince of Wales, and the Queen gave her daughter away. The war in Germany this year saw the husbands of two of the Queen's daughters ranged on opposite sides. During the progress of *he war in the immediate vicinity of Darmstadt the third daughter of Prin- cess Alice was born. The mother was deeply concerned for her husband yn^ 2H THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. in the field, but eventually he was restored to her in safety. Austria was utterly worsted in the conflict, and Prussia ultimately annexed Hanover, Hesse-C^ssel, etc., as the spoils of victory. In October the Queen evinced her interest in the sanitary concerns of the people by opening the fine new waterworks at Aberdeen. In 1806 the daily water supply of Aberdeen was only 60,000 gallons, but the new waterworks would furnish a supply of 6,000,000 gallons of pure water from the Dee. An address was presented to the Queen by the Commis- sioners, and Her Majesty, speaking for the first time in public since her great loss, said: ^^I have felt that at a time when the attention of the country has been so anxiously directed to the state of the public health it was right that I should make an exertion to testify my sense of the importance of a !work so well calculated as this to promote the health and comfort of your ancient city.^ At the close of this year the growing discontent of the people that Her Majesty showed no disposition to resume her old place in Court functions was made the occasion of public demonstration at a meeting at St. James' Hall, in support of the enfranchis«nent of the working classes, when Mr. Ayrton, M. P., condemned the Queen's retirement in strong terms. This brought John Bright to his feet, who warmly vindi- cated Her Majesty from Mr. Ayrton's charge that she had neglected her duty to society. **I am not accustomed," said Mr. Bright, **to stand up in defense of those who are the possessors of crowns, but I feel that there has been a great injustice done to the Queen, and I venture to say this, that a woman — be she the queen of a great realm or the wife of one of your laboring men — ^who can keep alive in her heart a great sorrow for the lost object of her life and affection, is not at all likely to be wanting in a great and generous sympathy with you." As the great orator ceased, a remarkable ovation took place, the entire audience rising and singing "God Save the Queen" with every demonstration of love and loyalty. When two years later the name of John Bright wa* submitted to Her Majesty for a seat in Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet, she expressed her pleasure^ saying that she was under the greatest obligation to him for the many kind words he had spoken of her, and despatched a special messenger to tell Mr. Bright that if it was more agreeable to his feelings as a Quaker to omit the ceremony of kneeling and kissing hands, he was at liberty to do so, of which permission Mr. Bright availed himself. The THE QUEEN AND THE UNITED STATES. 265 Princess Royal was present during his reception at Windsor, and told liim that both herself and all the members of the royal family were greatly indebted to him for the way in which he had spoken of th^r mother. Mr. Bright has recorded his estimate of the Queen's character to the effect that she was the ^^most absolutely straightforward and truthful p»8on'' he had ever known. CHAPTER X. YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. ExtenglMi of llie Eleettfe FnneUfe— Federmttoft of CuuMlft— FenlAii TtmMm In IieUaA— Mr. Gladgtone'B Iridi Chnrch Betolntloiu— The Qaeeft Tiflto Switerlaad— War Between Franoeuid Gemuuiy^-lIarriAge of the PrineeM Looise to the Maiqnis of Lonie— IIlBeet of llie Prinee of Wales— Fatal Aoddeni to a Grandflon of the Qaeeii— fhe Frinee of Wales Tistto India. IN FEBBU ARY, 1867, the Queen opened Parliament for the session that gave the country a measure of electoral reform even more momentous than the great reform bill of William the Fourth's time, for the working classes were by this legislation given a very important share in the government of the country. The Queen was heartily in favor of these measures, and it was largely due to her influence that they became part of the laws of the land. This year also saw Canada federated. The Imperial act, known as **the British North American Act, 1867," provided for the voluntary union of the whole of British North America into one general confeder- ation, under the name of the Dominion of Canada. The Dominion thus constituted consists at present of the old provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, now designated respectively Ontario and Quebec, along with Nova Scotia, NeW Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Provision is also made in the Imperial act for the admission of Newfoundland into the confederacy. It is further provided that the constitution of the Dominion shall be "similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom;" that the executive authority shall be vested in the Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland, and carried on in his name by a governor-general and privy council; and that the legislative power shall be exercised by a parliament consisting of an Upper House, or "Senate," the members of which are nominated for life, by summons under the great seal of Canada, and a "House of Commons," duly elected by the several constituencies of the various provinces in proportion to the relative population of each. During the year 1867 the feeling of discontent in Ireland again mani- S69 YEARS PULL OF HISTORY. 257 fested itself, and the leaders planned a general uprising against the goyernment. The promptitude of the authorities perhaps prevented a general insurrection, but there was a partial outbreak in February and March, chiefly in Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary. There was an affray, if it deserves the name, at Tallaght, near Dublin, and a plot to seize Chester Castle was discovered and frustrated. The police, who behaved extremely well, were often attacked, but the Fenians abstained from plunder or from any acts which might estrange the rural population^ The peasants, however, though for the most part nationalists, did not care to risk their lives in such wild enterprise, and the young men of the towns furnished the only real force. Weather of extraordinary severity, which will long be remembered as the **Fenian winter," completed tjieir discomfiture, and they suffered fearful hardships. There was enough sympathy with the movement to procure the election of (VDonovan Rossa for Tipperary in 1867, when he was actually undergoing penal servitude. In the course of the year there appeared the interesting work entitled *T?he Early Years of H. R H., the Prince Consort," compiled under the direction of Her Majesty by Lieut.-Qeneral the Hon. C. Grey. In this book the Queen pays an affectionate tribute to the virtue and characteiv of her deceased husband, and the biography contains much material furnished directly by the Sovereign herself. "No homage which the Queen has paid to her husband's memory is more expressive than the humility and simple confidence with which she has in these pages trusted to the world particulars relating to herself. The candor with which she has published the events that led to their engagement, and their feelings and impressions, is not more striking than the assiduous self-denial which causes the interest always to center in the Prince. The Queen is kept out of sight whenever her presence is not required to illustrate his life." What the book gives is "not merely the privilege of overhearing the tale of love and grief, whispered by a mother to her children, but a great argument of history, a resolute attempt to make the nation understand the most illustrious character the royal family has possessed since the accession of the dynasty. To accomplish this high purpose, the Queen has not shrunk from the sacrifices which men seldom make, and monarchs never." On the 20th of May Her Majesty in person laid the first stone of the Fall of Arts and Science at Kensington Gore. This important edifice, 268 ^ YEARS full OF HISTORY. which is now known as the Royal Albert Hall, was to be available for the following objects: Congresses, both national and international, for purposes of science and art; performances of music, distributions of prizes by public bodies, conversations for the promotion of science and art, agricultiural, horticultural, and industrial exhibitions, and displays of pictures and sculpture. The ceremony at the laying of the foundation- stone was of an imposing character. The Queen was accompanied by the Princesses Louise and Beatrice, Prince Leopold and Prince Chris- tian; and she was received by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edin- burgh, the Lord Steward, and the Lord Chamberlain; Her Majesty wore deep mourning, a plain widow's cap and a dark crape mantle. The Princesses wore dresses of green and white, and Prince Leopold a High- land dress. The Prince of Wales, bowing to his mother, handed her a beautiful bouquet. The Queen, as she took it, kissed both her elder sons, and went forward into the building, being received by the whole company with hearty cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, and clapping of hands. The Queen advanced to the edge of the raised dais, and curtsied three times, first to the right, next to the left, and then to those in front of her. The Prince of Wales read an address to the Queen, who replied, contrary to custom with her, in a scarcely audible tone of voice. She referred to the struggle with which she had nerved herself to take part in the day's ceremony, but said she had been sustained by the thought that she was assisting to promote the accomplishment of the Prince's great designs. To his memory, the Queen continued, ^^the gratitude and affection of the country are now rearing a noble monument, which I trust may yet look down on such a center of institutions for the promo- tion of art and science as it was his fond hope to establish here." In June the Queen of Prussia arrived at Windsor Castle on a visit to the Queen; and in the following month the Sultan was also hos- pitably housed for a time at the Castle. His Majesty was made the center of a round of gayeties and celebrations at the Distal Palace and elsewhere; but a grand naval review, at which he was present, off Spit- head, was spoilt by tempestuous weather. The Sultan left Ehigland much impressed by his visit. On the day before his departure ftrom Buckingham Palace the Queen received at Osborne another illustrious visitor in the person of the Empress of the French. On the 20th of August the Queen left Windsor for Balmoral, paying a visit on the way to the Duke and Duchess of Bozburghe at Floors i:.: YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. 259 Castle. The procession from Kelso to the castle was quite a triumphal one, and at one point a beautiful scene was witnessed, when fifty young ladies and girls dressed in white, and wearing chaplets of ivy, strewed the road with exquisite bouquets of flowers. At night, beacon-fires were lit on the hill-tops over a wide extent of country, there being no fewer than thirteen bonfires on the Duke of Roxburghe's estate, so that the fires may be said to have ranged from the Eildons to the Cheviots. The Queen visited Melrose Abbey and Abbotsford on the 22nd, and Jedburgh on the succeeding day. At Abbotsford she inspected the memorials of Sir Walter Scott, and acceded to a request to write her name in the Great Wizard^s journal; though she afterwards wrote in her own Jour- nal that she felt it to be presumption on her part to do so. On the 24th she proceeded to Balmoral. During her stay in the North she paid a visit to Olenfiddich, the shooting-lodge of the Duke of Bichmond. The luggage having failed to arrive on the sisime day as the travelers the Queen and her ladies were compelled to dine in their riding^skirts, and Her Majesty put on a black lace veil belonging to one of her attend- ants, which was arranged as a coiffure. On the 15th of October, the engagement day of the Queen and Prince Consort, a statue of the Prince was unveiled at Balmoral. In February, 1868, Her Majesty received an address of loyalty and affection from the Irish residents in London, a demonstration evoked by the Fenian conspiracy and the Qerkenwell outrage. The address was signed by 22,603 persons. An exciting debate took place in the House of Commons early in May, arising out of Mr. Disraeli's interview with the Queen after the defeat of the Government on Mr. Oladstone^s Irish Church Resolutions. The Premier stated that he had recommended a dissolution of Parlia- ment to Her Majesty, but that he had afterwards placed his resignation at her disposal if she should be of opinion that it would conduce to a more satisfactory settlement of the Irish Church question. Mr. Glad- stone and other members strongly censured the use that had been made of the Queen's name, as well as the policy of the Premier, which con- demned the House of Commons by anticipation if any of its votes should be displeasing to the Government. Great indignation was caused in England by the news that the Duke of Edinburgh, while accepting the hospitality of the friends of the Sailors' Home at Clontarf, near Port Jackson, New South Wales, had 260 YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. been shot in the back by one O'FarrelL The wound^ happilyi was not fatal; the ball was extracted, and in eight days the Duke was suffi- ciently recovered to go on board his ship. On the 13th of May the Queen laid the foundation-stone of the jaew buildings for 8t Thomas' Hospital, and in her reply to the address pre- sented to her she referred to the founding of the hospital by her royal predecessor Edward VI., and to the interest which her late husband always took in it. She also alluded to the fortunate preservation of her son, the Duke of Edinburgh, from the hand of an assassin. In Windsor Park, on the 20th of June, there was a review of 27,000 Volunteers by the Queen, the day being observed as a holiday by most of the public offices and large business establishments of London. Her Majesty left England on a visit to Switzerland on the 6th of August, traveling incognito as the Countess of Kent; en route she stayed for a day at the English Embassy, Paris, where she received the Empress Eugenie. She proceeded next day by rail to Lucerne. During their sojourn at this place, the Queen and her children — ^Prince Leopold and the Princesses Louise and Beatrice — occupied a beautifully situated residence called the Villa (Pension) Wallace. It stands on a hill overlooking the town, with the Righi on the left, and Mount Pilatus, dirtinguished by its serrated ridge, upon the right, and the lake and snowy St. Gothard range of Alps immediately in front. After enjoying for a month the delightful scenery of Switzerland, Her Majesty left Lucerne on the 9th of September, reached Windsor Castle on the 11th, and proceeded to Balmoral on the 14th. During her stay in her Scottish home she interested herself, as usual, in all the doings of the humble occupants of the cottages on the estate. One of the typical visits she was accustomed to pay to the cottagers has thus been described by the Rev. Dr. Guthrie, who had himself visited this particular cottar's home: ''Within these walls the Queen had stood, with her kind hands smooth- ing the thorns of a dying man^s pillow. There, left alone with him at her own request, she had sat by the bed of death — a Queen ministering to the comfort of a saint— preparing one of her humblest subjects to meet the Sovereign of us all. The scene, as our fancy pictured it, seemed like the breaking of the day when old prophecies shall be fulfilled: kings become nursing fathers, and queens nursing mothers to the Church.'' Whether at the Scotch communion service, or at a deathbed liORD Mayor Objees of LiOnbon (From the Most Recent Photograph.) Where LiIES Oliver Goldsmith— Temple Court, XiOndon Tower of IjONix)N This ancient castle, used so many years as a prison for persons accused of crime against the King or government. Is now used principally as an arsenal and barracks for soldiers. YEARS PULL OF HISTORY. 263 or the graveside, the Queen testified by her presence and sympathy to the oneness of humanity. Before the close of the year there appeared the Queen's volume, ''Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands, from 1841 to 1861,^ etc., etc. While the work laid no claim to the dignity of history or the gravity of literature, it had qualities of its own which ensured a ready acceptance amongst all readers. These records were not origi- nally intended for publication, but, as her husband had passed away, the Queen decided to give them to the world, in order that it might learn how great was the loss which she and England had sustained by the death of so good and able a man as the Prince Consort. Her Majesty sent a copy of this volume to Charles Dickens, as a gift from "one of the humblest of writers to one of the greatest." The Queen visited the City of London on the 6t;h of November, 1869, for the purpose of opening the new bridge over the Thames at Black- friars, and the new viaduct over the Fleet Valley from Holborn Hill to Newgate street. The citizens of London gave a warm welcome to thefn Sovereign after her prolonged absence from their midst. The journey from Paddington to Blackfriars /Bridge — ^the Queen was accompanied by the Princesses Louise and Beatrice and Prince Leopold — was a con- tinued ovation. After the ceremony at the bridge Her Majesty pro- ceeded to the new Holborn Viaduct, where there was an immense assemblage of people, who greeted her with the liveliest acclamations. Having declared the Viaduct open, the Queen drove by way of Holborn to Paddington. The Lord Mayor gave a banquet at the Mansion House in the evening, when the Queen's reply to the address presented was read, expressive of the pleasure it had afforded her to visit the city, to open new works in which she recognized "the spirit of enterprise and improvement which has ever characterized the citizens of London." Another very interesting ceremony was witnessed in May, 1870, when the Queen, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales, formally opened the new buildings erected for the University of London in Burlington Gardens. The address presented made reference to the fact that it was in the year of Her Majesty's accession to the throne that the University began its labors ^^for the encouragement of a regular and liberal course of education among all denominations of the subjects of the Crown;*' and it further offered dutiful thanks to the Queen for consenting to open a building granted by Parliament and fully satisfy- 264 YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. ing all the requirements of the University, Lord Granville, as C3ian- cellor of the University, read the address, to which Her Majesty replied, and then said in firm and clear tones^ '^I declare this building open." Many distinguished visitors were present, who were all cordially received, but the warmest greetings were extended to Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Disraeli, and the Indian religious reformer, Baboo Eeshub Chunder Sen. The year 1870 was an eventful one upon the Continent. The war between France and Germany — ^in which the Queen's sons-in-law, the Crown Prince of Prussia and Prince Louis of Hesse were engaged — ^led to the re-making of the map of Europe so far as Prance and Germany were concerned; and as one result of the deadly struggle the Emperor and Empress of the French were driven into exile. Under changed and melancholy conditions Queen Victoria visited the Empress Eugenie at Chislehurst towards the close of the year. Her Majesty's stay at Balmoral in 1869 had been diversified by a most enjoyable visit of ten days to Invertrossachs, from which point the royal party explored some of the most beautiful lake scenery in Scot- land. The visit to Balmoral in the autumn of 1870 was marked by a tiappy incident of another description. On the 3rd of October the Prin- cess Louise became engaged to the Marquis of Lome, eldest son of the Duke of Argyll. The engagement took place during a walk from the Glassalt Shiel to the Dhu Loch. The Queen writes in her Journal: "We got home by seven. Louise, who returned some time after we did, told me that Lome had spoken of his devotion to her, and proposed to her, and that she had accepted him, knowing that I would approve. Though I was not unprepared for this result, I felt painfully the thought of losing her. But I naturally gave my consent, and could only pray that she might be happy." Dr. Macleod, who had long known Lord Lome, told the Queen that he had a very high opinion of him, and that "he had fine, noble, elevated feelings." The year 1871 was a very anxious one for the Queen, as during its course another daughter left the parental roof on her marriage, while before it closed the life of the Prince of Wales was in imminent danger. Her Majesty opened Parliament in person on the 9th of February. The royal speech, however, was read by the Lord Chancellor, and as he proceeded the Queen sat With eyes cast down and perfectly still, a slight movement of her fan being all that was at any time perceptible. The YEARS FULL OF HiSfOttV. 265 eh:ef home topics of interest were the approaching marriage of the Princess Loaise and the agitation for army reform, which ultimately ended in the abolition of purchase. The marriage of the Princess Louise to the Marquis of Lome was solemnized at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on the 21st of March. The ceremony was distinguished by much pomp. The Duke of Argyll attracted special attention when he appeared in "the garb of old Gaul," with kilt, philibeg, sporran and claymore complete. The bridegroom, who was supported by Earl Percy and Lord Ronald Gower, looked pale and nervous. All the members of the royal family were present. The bride was supported on the right by the Queen, and on the other side by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and'Gotha. The bridesmaids were dressed in white satin decorated with red camellias, with long and drooping leaves; the bride wore a white satin robe, with a tunic of Honiton lace of ingenious and graceful design. In this tunic were bouquets composed of the rose, the shamrock and the thistle, linked together by a floral chain, from which hung bouquets of various flowers. The veil, which was of Honiton lace, was worked from a sketch made by the Princess Louise herself. When the Bishop of London put the usual question as to the giving away of the bride, the Queen replied by a gesture, and then the bishop joined the hands of the young people. At the close of the ceremony the Queen lovingly embraced her daughter. The bride and bridegroom left Windsor for Claremont, to spend the honeymoon. For their London residence, rooms were allotted to them in Kensington Palace. Her Majesty opened the Royal Albert Hall on the 29th of March, in the presence of the members of the royal family, the chief officers of State, and a large and distinguished assembly, consisting of some 8,000 persons. On the entrance of the Queen the whole audience rose to receive her, and remained standing while the National Anthem was performed. At its conclusion the Prince of Wales read an address to Her Majesty. The Queen handed to the Prince a written answer, and said in a clear voice: **I wish to express my great admiration of this beautiful hall, and my earnest wishes for its complete success." A prayer was offered by the Bishop of London, and then the Prince exclaimed: "The Queen declares this hall to be now opened." The announcement was followed by a burst of cheering, the National Anthem, and the discharge of the park guns. The opening was cele* 266 YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. brated by a concert, under the direction of Sir Michael Costa, who com- posed a cantata expressly for the occasion. The cost of the hali was estimated at £200,000, and — what is probably unique in the history of public buildings — ^this cost was not exceeded. Early in April the Queen, accomi>anied by Prince Leopold, paid a visit to the Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Eugenie at Chislehupst. The Einperor was suffering greatly both in mind and body, but he was much touched by this manifestation of friendship. On the 2184: of June Her Majesty opened the new St. Thomas' Hos- pital, and knighted the treasurer, Mr. Francis Hicks. The Queen did not return from her usual visit to Balmoral- until a late period this autumn, and when she reached Windsor, on the 25th of November, she was met by the disturbing news that a feverish attack from which the Prince of Wales had for some time been suffering had assumed a -grave aspect. A bulletin, issued by Drs. Jenner, Gull, Clay- ton and Lowe, stated that the Princess illness was typhoid fever. Her Majesty proceeded to Sandringham on the 29th. The Princess Louise of Hesse and her children were staying at Sandringham, and the Queen at once despatched the Prince of Wales' three elder children and thoae of the Princess Louise to Windsor. Princess Alice remained at Sand- ringham to share the vigils of the Princess of Wales. The news of the Prince's illness created profound sorrow and solicitude throughout the United Kingdom. As the fever continued to run its course for some days without any alarming symptoms. Her Majesty returned to Wind- sor; but on the 8th of December a very serious relapse occurred. The life of His Royal Highness was in imminent danger, and the Queen and all the members of the royal family hurried to Sandringham. For some days the whole nation was plunged in gloom, and the excitement respecting the daily bulletins was intense. By the Queen's desire, special prayers were used on and after the 10th in all churches and chapels of the establishment. Prayers also went up from the Jewish synagogues and from Catholic and Dissenting churches. The national anxiety and suspense were continued until the night of Wednesday, the 14th — the anniversary of the Prince Consort's death — ^when there was a slight amelioration of the worst symptoms, and the invalid obtained long-needed and refreshing sleep. From that day forward the Prince continued gradually to recover. The Queen returned to Windsor on the 19th of December, and on the 26th she wrote the following letter to her •> ..tifc* YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. 367 people: "The Queen is very anxious ^ to express her deep sense of the touching sympathy of the whole nation on the occasion of the alarming illness of her dear son^ the Prince of Wales. The universal feeling shown by her people during those painful, terrible days, and the sym- pathy evinced by them with herself and her beloved daughter, the Princess of Wales, as well as the general joy at the improvement of the Prince of Wales' state, have made a deep and lasting impression on her heart, which can never be effaced. It was indeed nothing new to her, for the Queen had met with the same sympathy when, just ten years ago, a similar illness removed from her side the mainstay of her life, the best, wisest and kindest of husbands. The Queen wishes to express at the same time, on the part of the Princess of Wales, her feelings of heartfelt gratitude, for she has been as deeply touched as the Queen by the great and universal manifestation of loyalty and sympathy. The Queen cannot conclude without expressing her hope that her faithful subjects will continue their prayers to God for the complete recovery of her dear son to health and strength." The 27th of February, 1872, was observed as a day of national thanksgiving for the Princess recovery. A more joyous and successful celebration was never witnessed in London. The progress of Her Maj- esty and the Prince and Princess of Wales and Princess Beatrice to St. Paul's was one continuous ovation. Amid the incessant cheering cries were heard of "God save the Queen P and "God bless the Prince of Wales P' His Royal Highness insisted upon continually removing his hat in response to the congratulations. At Temple Bar the City sword was presented and returned, after which the Lord Mayor remounted his horse and rode before the Queen to St. Paul's. The sight in the cathedral, where 13,000 persons Were gathered, was very imposing. The Queen, who had the Prince of Wales on her right and the Princess of Wales on her left hand, took the Prince's arm, and walked up the nave to the pew specially prepared for the royal party. The service began with the Te Deum, and then there was a special form of thanksgiving, which opened as follows: "O Father of mercies, O God of all comfort, we thank Thee that Thou hast heard the prayers of this nation in the day of our trial; we praise and. magnify Thy glorious name for that Thou hast raised Thy servant Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, from the bed of sickness." The sermon was preached by the Archbishop of Canterbury, his text being taken from the Epistle to the Romans: ^€ir ^ 268 YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. '^Members one of another.*' When Her MajeBty left the Cathedral, the Lord Mayor and aldermen led the procession to the bounds of the city. After reaching Buckingham Palace the Queen and the Prince of Wales appeared for a short time on the central balcony. In the evening Lon- don was brilliantly illuminated. Her Majesty on the following day issued a letter to the people, stating how deeply touched and gratified she had been by the immense enthusiasm and affection exhibited towards her son and herself on their progress through the capital. Only two days after this happy event, the Queen* was returning from a drive in the park, her carriage having just entered the courtyard, when a lad suddenly rushed forward to the left-hand side of the carriage, and held out a pistol in his right hand and a paper in his left. He next rushed to the other side and held the pistol and the paper at the full stretch of his arms towards the Queen, who was then seated to his right, appearing quite calm and unmoved. The lad was speedily seized by Her Majesty's personal attendant, John Brown. The pistol proved to be unloaded. On the offender's person a knife was found, and also a petition, written on parchment, for the release of the Fenian prisoners. He had managed to scale some iron railings about ten feet high, and thus gained access to the courtyard. He proved to be an Irish youth named Arthur O'Connor, seventeen years of age, and a clerk to an oil and color firm in the Borough. Great popular indignation was aroused in consequence of the outrage, and coming so close after the thanks- giving service, it accentuated the loyalty of the people towards the Queen. O'Connor was subsequently brought to trial, and sentenced to one year's imprisonment with hard labor, and a whipping with a birch rod. The Queen had for some time past contemplated instituting a medal as a reward for long or faithful service among her domestic servants, and she now inaugurated the institution by conferring on John Brown, her faithful attendant, a medal in gold, with an annuity of £25, as a mark of her appreciation of his presence of mind and of his devotion on the occasion of the attack made upon Her Majesty. While the Queen was at Balmoral in the ensuing June she received tidings of the death of her valued friend and spiritual adviser, Dr. Nor- man Macleod. The Queen and all her household were much affected by the loss. The deceased had on many occasions cheered and comforted the Sovereign in times of trouble. "No one ever raised and strengthened one's faith more than Dr. Macleod," wrote Her Majesty. "His own faith YBARS FULL OF HISTORY. 269 was 80 strong, his heart so targe, that all| high and low, weaiL and strong, the erring and the good, could alike find sympathy, help and consolation from him. How I loved to talk to him, to ask his advice, to speak to him of my sorrows, my anxieties! But, alas! how impossible I feel it to be to give any adequate idea of the character of this good and distinguished man." On the 1st of July, the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edin- burgh, the Princesses Louise and Beatrice, and Prince Leopold, visited the national memorial erected in Hyde Park to the memory of the Prince Consort. This magnificent and costly monument was then complete, save for the statue of the Prince, which was to be executed by Mr. Foley, and to form the central and principal figure. The structure, which ja very elaborate in all its parts, reaches to a height of 180 feet, and termi- nates in a graceful cross. Her Majesty visited Dunrobin in September, and laid the memorial stone of a monument to the memory of her dear friend the Duchess of Sutherland in the grounds of Dunrobin Castle. The stone bore a brass plate, with a suitable inscription, closing thus: "This foundation-stone was laid by Queen Victoria of England, in testimony of her love and friendship, 9th of September, 1872." Before the month closed Her Majesty received intelligence of the death of her beloved sister, the Dowager Princess of Hohenlohe Langen- burg, who expired at Baden-Baden. There was ever a warm attachment between the two illustriousladies,andthe Princess was deeply mourned, not only by the Queen, but by a wide circle. The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Arthur went over to Germany to the funeral, at which also were present the Emperor of Germany and the Prince and Princess Louise of Hesse. A strange and checkered career came to a close in January, 1873, when the Emperor Napoleon died after much physical suffering at Chis- lehurst. Messages of sympathy with the Empress Eugenie and the Prince Imperial were sent by the Queen and various European Sover- eigns. On the 2nd of April the Queen paid a visit to Victoria Park, and her appearance in the East End was welcomed with great enthusiasm by large crowds of her poorer subjects, who lined both sides of the thor- onghfares. It seemed as though every court and alley of this densely populated portion of the metropolis had poured forth all its occupants 270 YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. of both Bexea, who vied with each other in their demonstrations of loy- alty. AL sad and fatal accident befell one of the Queen's grandsons, Prince Frederick William of Hesse, at Darmstadt, on the 28th of May. Shortly before eight o'clock in the morning, the nurses had as usual brought the royal children into Princess Alice's bedroom. "On this occasion there were but three — viz.. Prince Ernest, Prince Frederick William, and the baby. Princess Victoria. Out of the bedroom opened a bathroom, into which Prince Ernest ran. The Princess, knowing the window to be open, as was also the one in her bedroom, hastily got up and followed the child, leaving Prince Frederick William and the baby on the bed. Dur* ing her short absence, Prince Frederick William let a toy with which he was playing fall out of the window, and while trying to recover it he fell a height of twenty feet to the ground. The Princess, hearing a noise, rushed back, but only in time to see the unhappy child in the air. Her shrieks soon brought assistance, but all efforts were useless, and the poor little fellow died about eleven o'clock. He had been weakly from his birth, but he was of a gay and lively disposition, and his death caused profound sorrow to his parents, with whom much sympathy was felt." As an illustration of the rigidity of Court etiquette it may be mentioned that, while Court mourning was ordered in England for the little Prince, there was none ordered in Darmstadt, as the deceased child was not twelve years old. During their stay in Scotland, in September, the Queen and Prin- cess Beatrice spent a week at Inverlochy, near Ben Nevis, Lord Abinger having placed his seat there at Her Majesty's disposal. The Queen after- wards went through the Caledonian Canal, greatly enjoying its beautiful scenery. From Inverness the royal travelers went on to Balmoral. On the 23rd of January, 1874, the Duke of Edinburgh was married to the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, the ceremony taking place in the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg. In the succeeding March the I'oyal couple made a public entry into London. A heavy snowstorm somewhat marred the proceedings, but the Queen, with the Duchess and the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice, drove through the streets of the metropolis in an open carriage. On arriving at Buckingham Palace the newly wedded couple met with an ovation from a large crowd of persons jwho had assembled in front of the Palace. In April Her Majesty visited Gosport, and inspected the sailors and .^4;. YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. 271 marines of the Royal Navy who had gallantly borne their part, with three regiments of the army, in the successful campaign against the . Ashantees. At a later period she personally conferred the medals awarded for conspicuous gallantry during the Ashantee war upon nine seamen and marines. In connection with this war Sir Garnet Wolse- ley received the Order of St. Michael and St. George, and Lord GifEord that of the Victoria Cross. On the occasion of the jubilee meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, held on the 22nd of June, the Queen, through Sir Thomas Biddulph, addressed a letter to the President, Lord Harrowby. Her Majesty desired to give expression to her warm interest in ^^he success of the efforts which are being made at home and abroad for the purpose of diminishing the cruelties practiced on dumb animals. The Queen hears and reads with horror of the sufferings which the brute creation often undergo from the thoughtlessness of the ignorant, and she fears also sometimes from experiments in the pursuit of science. For the removal of the former the Queen trusts much to the progress of education, and in regard to the pursuit of science she hopes that the entire advantage of those ansasthetic discoveries from which man has derived so much benefit himself in the alleviation of suffering may be fully extended to the lower animals." The interesting festival of Hallo we^en was celebrated on a great scale at Balmoral on the 4th of November. As soon as darkness set in, Her Majesty and the Princess Beatrice, each bearing a large torch, drove out in an open phaeton. A procession, consisting of the tenants and servants on the estates, followed, all carrying huge lighted torches^ They walked through the grounds and round the Castle, and the scene was very weird and striking. There was an immense bonfire in front of the Castle, and when the flames were at the highest a figure dressed a?i a hobgoblin appeared on the scene, drawing a car surrounded by a num- ber of fairies carrying long spears, the car containing the eflSgy of a witch. A circle having been formed by the torch-bearers, the presiding «lf tossed the figure of the witch into the fire, where it was speedily consumed. Reels were then begun, which were danced with great vigor to the stirring bagpipe strains of Willie Ross, the Queen's piper. The Queen and Princess Beatrice, who remained as spectators of the show, were highly entertained. A pleasing international incident occurred on the 3rd of December, 272 YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. when Her Majesty veceived at Windsor an addre&d of thanks from the French nation for the services rendered by the English people to the sick and wounded in the war of 1870-71. The address was contained in four large Tolumes^ which were beautiful as works of art; and by command of the Queen these volumes were placed in the British Museum, in order that the public might have an opportunity of inspecting them. There appeared this year the first volume of Sir Theodore Martin's Life of the Prince Consort — a work valuable for giving a complete pict- ure of the man; and amongst other tributes to the Prince was the erec- tion of the statue to his memory at the termination of the Holborn Viaduct. This statue w^as presented to the Corporation by a wealthy gentleman of the city. Many distinguished men who had been personally honored by the Queen passed away in this and the following year. The mournful death- list included Bishop Wilberforce, Sir E. Landseer, Charles Kingsley, W. C. Macready, and Her Majesty's literary adviser and clerk of the Council, Sir Arthur Helps. ' It had been announced that the Queen would open Parliament in person in February, 1875, but the alarming illness of her youngest son, Prince Leopold, prevented her from carrying out her design. The Prince had been seized with typhoid fever during the Christmas vacation at Osborne (though the disease had been contracted at Oxford University), and for a long time a fatal termination was feared to his illness. Hap- pily, however, he eventually recovered. As the Princess Alice said, he had already been given back three times to his family from the brink of the grave. Her Majesty was an involuntary witness of a lamentable accident which occurred as she was crossing over from Osborne to Qosport in the royal yacht on the 18th of August. A yacht called the Mistletoe, belong- ing to Mr. Heywood, of Manchester, ran across the bows of the Alberta, and a collision took place. The Mistletoe turned over and sank, and the feister-in-law of the owner was drowned. The master, who had been struck by a spar, also died afterwards, but the rest of the crew were saved. The Queen was greatly distressed by the occurrence, and per- sonally aided in restoring one of the sufferers to consciousness. Col- onel Ponsonby some time afterwards addressed a letter to the Com- modore of the Boyal Victoria Yacht Club, deprecating the constant practice of private yachts in approaching the royal yacht from motives YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. 278 of loyalty or cariosity. As the Solent is generally crowded with vessels in summer, this was a very dangerous custom, which might lesid to lamentable results, and the Queen hoped it would be discontinued. This letter gave rise to much controversy; and as it appeared immediately after the verdict of the Oosport jury, which attributed the disaster partly to error on the part of the officers of the royal yacht, it was inter- preted as an expression of the Queen's opinion that the master of the Mistletoe was to blame. Her Maje^y hastened to remove this impres- sion, and an explanation was published from Colonel Ponsonby to the effect that his letter was written three weeks before the verdict had been pronounced, and was not in any way intended to anticipate that verdict by laying the blame on either party. The Queen paid a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Argyll at Inver- aray in September, and from thence proceeded to Balmoral. At Ciathie, on the 21st of October, Her Majesty and Princess Beatrice attended the funeral of Mr. John Brown, father of the Queen's attendant. The weather was wet and bleak, but the Queen and her youngest daughter followed on foot from the house to the hearse, which from the nature of the roads, could not be got near the door. After the hearse had moved off, Her Majesty returned to the house, and stayed some time, endeavor- ing to comfort the widow. Most of the members of the Court attended the old man's funeral. In October the Prince of Wales left England for his lengthened tour through Her Majesty's Indian dominions. He met with a grand recep- tion in Bombay, and his birthday was kept in India. The Prince visited the chief wonders of India, including the caves of Elephanta. There was an elephant hunt in Ceylon, and an illumination of the surf. Colombo, Bombay, Baroda, Calcutta, and Madras were all visited. The tour was in every respect a perfect success, and created a most favorable impres- sion amongst the Queen's Indian subjects. In the following year the Royal Titles Bill was passed, and Her Majesty was proclaimed Empress of India. The Queen made many public appearances in 1876. Early in Febru- ary she opened Parliament in person, and on the 26th of the' same month attended a ^ate concert given at the Albert Hall, when she was accom- panied by the Princess of Wales, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Leopold, and received by the Duke of Edinburgh. Another of Her Majesty's per- sonal friends, Lady Augusta Stanley, passed away on the 1st of March, 274 YEARS FULL OF HISTORY^ and the Queen erected a memorial cross to her memory in the grounds at Progmore, On the 7th of March Her Majesty opened a new wing of the London Hospital, which had been built by the Grocers' Company at a cost of £20,000. Altogether the sum of £90,000 was contributed by public subscription for the enlargement of the hospital. The statue of the Prince Consort in the Albert Memorial was unveiled on the 9th, Without any ceremony. This splendid recognition of a Queen's affection and a nation's gratitude was now complete. Towards the close of March the Queen proceeded to Germany for a visit of some weeks — during which she visited her sister's grave — ^traveling under the name of the Countess of Kent. On the homeward journey, on the 20th of April, Hec Majesty rested at Paris, and had an interview with Marshal MacMahon, the French President. On the 2nd of May she reviewed the troops at Aldershot; the march past took place in the midst of a violent hail- storm. On the 13th the Queen opened a loan collection of scientific instruments at South Kensington Museum; and on the 27th her birth- day was kept in London with more than customary public rejoicings in honor of the Prince of Wales' return from India. The Albert Memorial at Edinburgh was unveiled by the Queen with great ceremony on the 17th of August The memorial, which is in Char« lotte Square, consists of a colossal equestrian statue of the Prince Con- sort, in field-marshal's uniform and bare-headed, standing on a pedestal, at the four corners of which are groups of figures looking up to the central figure. The sculptor of the whole composition was Mr. John Steell, upon whom and Professor Oakley, the composer of the chorale which was sung on the occasion, Her Majesty conferred the honor of knighthood. The Queen took up her quarters at Holyrood Palace for two days, and in her diary she records the coincidence that the last pub- lic appearances of both her husband and her mother were made in Edinburgh. The ceremony of unveiling the statue passed off very suc- cessfully. The Queen was well seen by her subjects, for she insisted upon standing throughout the whole ceremony, although chairs of State ' had been prepared for her and Princess Beatrice and Prince Leopold. As the memorial was uncovered the band played the **Coburg March," which much touched Her Majesty. She walked round the statue, and expressed her complete satisfaction with the work. On the 26th of September the Queen presented new colors to the 79th Regiment, "Royal Scots," at Ballater. The rain came down in torrents. YEARS FULL OF HISTORY. 876 V After the piling of the drums, Her Majesty handed the new colors to the two sub-lieutenants, who were kneeling, and addressed them in these words: ''In entrusting these icolors to your charge, it gives me much pleasure to remind you that I have been associated with your regiment from my earliest infancy, as my dear father was your colonel. He was proud of his profession, and I was always told to consider myself a sol- dier's child. I rejoice in having a son who has devoted his life to tbe army, and who, I am confident, will ever prove worthy of the name of a British soldier. I now present these colors to you, convinced that you will always uphold the glory and reputation of my first Begilnent of Foot— the Boyal Scots,'* CHAPTER XI. QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. * IntavMt In Bur hMMa Empire— Tha MAiqals •f Lsne AnolnM Gorenor GeBermlof Qmada— bMtM «f PraideBt ttuHekl-ABPther Attempt m tiM LUb •€ the JhaXk «f llie Doke «f AllNUiy— Xarriage af tlM PrineeM Bcirtrice— The Cetodftl i iBdlMi EidhlMUon— The ()iiee« Tlilte Lherpoel. rAR away in Bunnjr India was enacted, on January 1, 1877, a scene the most brilliant and unique of any connected with the glorious reign of Victoria. At the Imperial camp, outside the walls of Delhi, where the mutiny had raged the fiercest, Her Majesty was . proclaimed Empress of India. On a throne of oriental splendor, aboye which was a portrait of the Empress, sat Lord Lytton, her Viceroy, the Governors, Lieutenants, State officials and the Maharajahs, Bajahs, Nabobs and Princes, with their glittering retinues grouped around him. Behind rose the vast amphitheatre, filled with foreign ambassa- dors and notables; around was the concourse of spectators and a bril- liant array of fifteen thousand troops, while to complete the gorgeous scene the whole assemblage was surrounded by an unbroken chain of elephants decked with gay trappings. After the proclamation had been made with all the pomp of heraldry, the Viceroy presented to each of the feudatory Princes the gift of the Empress, a magnificent standard designed by Her Majesty. The standards were ornamented with the sacred water lily of India, spreading palms of the East, and the rose of England, it being the desire of the Empress to indicate that as the rose and lily intertwined beneath the spreading palm, so was the welfare of India to become one with that of her older dominions; and the motto, "Heaven's light our guide," illustrated the spirit in which she desired to govern the enormous empire of which she ever fondly spoke as "a bright jewel in her crown.'' Most noticeable in the brilliant gathering was the Begum of Bhopal, a lady Knight of the Most Noble Order of Queen Vic- toria, There was nothing to be seen of the lady save a bundle of float- ing azure silk, which indicated that she was inside, and upon the place where the left shoulder was supposed to be was emblazoned the shield of 276 QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS, %1t the Star of India. Much' cheap wit was expended after Her Majesty's accession on the rise of the "royal sex/' and it was said that the young Queen intended to establish an Order of Female Knighthood. The prophecy of the scoffer seemed to have been more than fulfilled in the figure of this Hindoo lady wearing the Order of the Star of In^ia. Though she was not valiant enough to show her face, yet her presence was a good omen for that emancipation of the women of her country from the seclusion of the Zenana which fittingly distinguished the reign of the British Empress. On the day of the Proclamation at Delhi, the Queen conferred the Grand Cross of India upon the Duke of Connaught, and when in 1879 she became a great-grandmother, by the birth of a daughter to the Princess of Saxe-Meiningen (Princess Charlotte of Prussia), she celebrated her ancient dignity by investing twelve noble ladies of her Court with the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, The keenest interest was always shown by the Queen in the condi- tion of Hindoo women. It was with heartfelt thankfulness that she saw the barbarous suttee abolished, and it was her influence which inspired the rapid spread of Zenana work. In July, 1881, she received at Wind- sor Miss Beilby, a medical missionary from India; and after listening to her account of the sufferings of Hindoo women, in time of illness, foii need of doctors, the Queen turned to her ladies and said, "We had no idea that things were as bad as this.^^ Miss Beilby then took from a; locket which she wore round her neck a folded piece of paper containing a message to Her Majesty from the Maharanee of Poonah. "The women of India suffer when they are sick,^^ was the burden of the dark-eyed Queen's appeaL The Empress returned her a message of sympathy and help, and to the women of England the Queen said, "We desire it to be generally known that we sympathize with every effort made to relieve the suffering state of the women of India"; and when Lord Dufferin went out as Governor-General, she commissioned Lady Dufferin to estab- lish a permanent fund for providing qualified women doctors for work in India. Her Majesty continued to take the greatest interest in this work, and was in constant communication with the Viceroy's wife regarding its further organization and extension, up to the time of her death. No opportunity was lost by Her Majesty to show her interest in her Indian Empire, and doubtless had the Prince Consort been spared she would have made a progress through the country. This was done in her stead by the Prince of Wales in 1875-6, and it was while he was making 278 ^ QVEEN VICTORIA BBCOMES AN EMPRESS. the tour that Lord Beaconsfleldi introduced the Royal Titles ^ill into Parliament, conferring upon the Queen the title of Ehnpress of India, a distinction regarded by John Bull as superfluous to a Crown the most distinguished in the world; but Her Majesty personally desired it, not, as gossip affirmed, because of the advent at Court of her second son's Imperial bride, but as a means of binding her Indian subjects to her in a closer manner. It is said that she showed more interest in the Indian Court of the Colonial Exhibition, 1886, than in any other, and at each of her visits chatted freely with the native workmen. When the Indian delegates to the Exhibition first saw their Empress, a homely-looking lady in a black silk gown, they expressed disappointment, having expected to see her decked out in the pomp and circumstance of a mighty potentate. *^ut, after all,*' said they, **what a great power the Queen must wield when she can command such an array of illustrious personages to attend upon her, while she appears as the most simple of all the Court.'' In later years Her Majesty had Indian servants in native dress as personal attendants; she was also an assiduous student of Hindustani, being able to speak and write in that language; and her. favorite State jewel was the priceless Koh-i-noor, about which hangs a tale. When it came into the possession of the East India Company, in ' 1850, it was handed at a Board meeting to John Lawrence (afterwards Lord Lawrence, the Viceroy) for safe keeping. The precious diamond was laid amongst folds of linen in a small box, and Lord Lawrence slipped it into his waistcoat pocket and forgot all about it until some days later it was suggested that he should forward it to the Queen. One can imag- ine his consternation when he rushed to his house to see if it was to be found. "Have you seen a small box in one of my waistcoat pockets?" he asked breathlessly of his servant. "Yes, sahib," was the reply. "I found it and put it in one of your boxes." "Bring it here and open it, and see what it contains," said his master. "There is nothing in it, sahib, but a bit of glass," the man replied in wonderment The **bit of glass?' was in due course despatched to the Queen, whose crown it was to adorn; but she preferred to wear it on occasions as a magnificent brooch in the centre of her bodice. The cutting of the diamond was personally superintended by the Prince Consort. Her Majesty again opened Parliament in person on the 8th of Febru- ary, 1877. The year was comparatively uneventful at home^ and in Sep- tember the Queen visited Loch Maree, staying at the Loch Maree Hotel The lilGHT HONOILAJBLE WlLUL^lM EWART QL^HETO^SJ^ Tbe Grc«t LJbertt SUteiman ot the Vlctorlaji Agv Wellingtok The Great General of the Early Victorian Age. QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS,. 281 > for a week, and greatly enjoying the magnificent scenery which Bops- shire affords. She made several sketching excursions, and has left a pleasant record of her whole sojourn in her Journal. In November the Queen parted for a long term with her daughter Louise^ who in that month went with her husband, the Marquis of Lome, to Canada, to which Dominion he had been appointed Governor-Qeneral. They had a most enthusiastic reception from the Canadian people, and remained there until 1883, when the term of office of the Marquis expired. A severe loss came to the royal family in December by the death of the lamented Princess Alice. Some time before diphtheria had broken out in the Darmstadt household, and every member of it was attacked in succession. Princess Marie, who was only four years old, died on the 16th of November. The Princess caught the infection as the result of her devoted attention to others, and from having on one occasion rested her head, from sheer sorrow, on the Duke^s pillow, without having taken the necessary precautions. She made all her preparations in the event of death. Once she was heard to murmur in her sleep, *Tour weeks — Marie — ^my father." On the morning of her death, having just taken some refreshment, she said, ^^Now I will again sleep quietly for a longer time.'' These were her last words, as she slept the sleep which knows no earthly waking, passing away on the 14th of December, the seven- teenth anniversary of her father's death. Pew Princesses have been more warmly beloved than the Princess Alice. The remains of the Prin- cess were interred in the mausoleum at Bosenhohe, on May 18, the Prince of Wales, Prince Leopold, and Prince Christian being among the mourners. A beautiful recumbent figure in white marble of the Prin- cess, in which she is represented as clasping her infant daughter to her breast, has been placed near the tomb, as a token of the loving remem* brance of her brothers and sisters. The Queen issued a letter to her subjects expressing her heartfelt thanks for the universal and most touching sympathy called forth by the death of her beloved daughter. During the month of January, 1879, Edward Byrne Madden was tried at the Central Critoinal Court for sending threatening letters to the Queen. Being found of unsound mind, he was ordered to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure. Madden was of Irish parents, but was bom at Bruges. He developed a mania for threatening Sovereigns, and before the charge against him in England, had already been confined in 282 QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. Austriaii, Belgian, French, and American asylums for threatening the lives of the Emperor Francis Joseph, King Leopold, Napoleon IIL, and President Johnson, In March the DuJce of Connaught was married to the Princess Louise of Prussia, at 8t Oeorge^s, Windsor. Some days later the Queen left England with the Princess Beatrice for Lago Maggiore, where they remained for four weeks. News reached them of the death of Prince Wald^nar, one of the sons of the Crown Prince and Princess of Ger- many, from feyer. Her Majesty returned to England on the 24th of April, trayeling by way of Milan, Turin, i^aris, and Cherbourg. On the 12th of May the Queen's first great-grandchild, the daughter of the Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, was bom. A fortnight later Her Majejsty proceeded to Balmoral, and, a<;companied by the Princess Beatrice, she inspected the cross of Aberdeen granite which an ajffec- tionate mother had reared to a beloved daughter. The cross bears this inscription: ''To the dear memory of Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Born April 25, 1843. Died December 14, 1878. This is erected by her sorrowing mother. Queen Victoria. 'Her name shall live, though now she is no more.' " Her Majesty was at Balmoral when she receiyed the mournful news of the death of the French Prince Imperial, who was slain in the Zulu war. The Queen could not at first credit the news, but it was confirmed by a telegram from Lady Frere, despatched from the Goyernment House, Cape Town. Her Majesty feared for the effect of the terrible news upon the Empress Eugenie, and thus wrote in her Journal: ^To think of that dear young man, the apple of his mother's eye, born and nurtured in the purple, dying thus, is too fearful, too awful; and inex- plicable and dreadful that the others should not haye turned round and fought for him. It is too horrible.'' The Queen opened Parliament in person on the 5th of February, 1880, and on the ensuing 25th of March left England for Baden-Baden and Darmstadt. She was present at the confirmation of her grandchil- dren the Princesses Victoria and Elizabeth, daughters of the Duke and the late Duchess of Hesse; and she also yisited the graye of their mother at RosenhOhe. Her Majesty in the following September welcomed the Duke of Connaught and his bride at Balmoral, where a cairn had been erected in their honor. The last month of this year and the early months of 1881 w^e sig- QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES "AN EMPRESS. S88 Balixed bj three great losses in Bnglisb literature and politics* Cteofege Eliot died in December, 1880, Carlyle in February, 1881, and the Earl of /BeacoBsfield in the following April. The ConserratiTe leader was bw led at Hughenden^ and the Queen and Princess Beatrice yisited the funeral vault while it was still open, and placed flowers upon the eoifflp. At a later period a monument was erected in Hughenden Church to Lord BeacoBSfleld'^by his grateful and affectionate Sovereign and friend, Victoria B. I. Kings love him that speaheth right (Prov. xvi. 13).'' Prince Leopold was .created Duke of Albany in June, 1881, and took Lis seat in the House of Ldrds. On the 19th of Sept^Dxber, President Garfield died after a long and painful struggle, the victim of an assassin. When it was known that he Lad succumbed to his wounds, the utmost sympathy was manifested throughout Europe, and the English Court went into mourning,^a cus- tom hitherto only observed in regard to the death of crowned heads. The President was buried on the 24th. One of the largest and most exquisite of the floral decorations on the bier bore a card with the inscription: ^ueen Victoria to the memory of the late President Gar* field: an expression of her sorrow and her sympathy with Mrs. Oarfteld and the American nation." Not many months afterwards another attempt was made on the Queen's own life. On the 2nd of March, 1882, Her Majesty, accompanied by Princess Beatrice, was entering her carriage at Windsor Station^ on returning from London, when she was fired at by a man named Boger Maclean, who was at once arrested. Fortunately, neither the Queen nor any one else was injured. It was discovered that the antecedents of Maclean were perfectly respectable, but that he had fallen into want. He was committed for trial on a charge of high treason, but being found not guilty on the plea of insanity, was sentenced to be confined during Her Majesty's pleasure. In both Houses of Parliament addresses were unanimously adopted, expressing horror and indignation at the attempt made on the Queen's lif^ and congratulations on her escape. Her Majesty left E2ngland on the 11th of March, accompanied by Princess Beatrice, on a visit to Mentone, traveling by way of Ports- mouth, Cherbourg, and Paris. The royal travelers returned to Windsor on the 14th of April, having had a very rough passage from Cherbourg to Portsmouth. A fortnight later the marriage of the Duke of Albany to Princess T-^^f^ 284 'QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES 'AN EMPRESS. Helen of Waldeck was celebrated in St George^s Chapel, Windsor, in the presence of the Queen and the royal family. The young couple had Cflaremont assigned to them as their residence, and the usual Parlia- mentary provision was made. An interesting ceremony took place at Epping on the 6th of May. The Queen and Princess Beatrice went in State from Windsor to the forest, where they w^e received by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, the Duke of Oonnaught as Banger of the Forest, etc. An address was pre- sented by the Corporation of London, after which Her Majesty declared the forest dedicated to the use and enjoyment of the public for all time. Upon her return to Windsor the Queen received the melancholy news of the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Towards the end of May, Albert Young, a railway clerk at Doncaster, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to ten years^ penal servitude for sending a letter to Sir Henry Ponsonby threatening to murder the Queen. On the 17th of August Her Majesty presented new colors to the 2nd battalion Berkshire Regiment (the 66th) at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight This gallant regiment lost its old colors in the engagement with Ayoub Ehan, at Maiwand, on July 14, 1880, when 370 of its officers and men were killed, including its commanding officer. Colonel Oalbraith. Two of the companies wore the Afghan cross, struck in memory of the march firom Cabul to Candahar. When the Egyptian war broke out the Duke of Oonnaught was amongst the officers who accompanied Sir Garnet Wolseley into Egypt The progress of the campaign was watched with much solicitude by the Qu^n and the Duchess of Oonnaught, who were at Balmoral during the thick of the engagements. News at last arrived of the great British victory at Tel-el-Kebir. "How anxious we felt, I need not say,*' wrote the Queen in her Journal, "but we tried not to give way. I prayed earn- estly for my darling child, and longed for to-morrow to arrive. Read Komer's beautiful Qebet vor der Schlacht, Vater, ich rufe Dich (Trayer before the Battle: Father, I call on Thee*). My beloved husband used to sing it often.** A telegram arrived at Balmoral: "A great victory; Duke safe and well;** and this was succeeded by a fuller one containing the words, "The Duke of Connaught is well and behaved admirably, leading his brigade to the attack.** This message diffused great joy and thankfulness over the royal circle. The Duke and Duchess of Albany QUEEtf VICTORIA BECOMES "AN EMPRESS. 285 arrived at Balmoral in the midst of the rejoicings, and were warmly wel- comed after their bridal tour. The healths of the bride and bridegroom having been drunK with Highland honors, the Queen requested her son to propose a toast "to the victorious army in Egypt,'^ coupled with the name of the Duke of Connaught. The toast was received with pride and enthusiasm. On the 18th of November the Queen reviewed in St. James' Park about 8,000 troops of all arms who had recently returned from service in Egypt After parading before Her Majesty, the troops marched by way of Birdcage Walk, Qrosvenor Place, Piccadilly, and Pall Mall, where they were enthusiastically received by large crowds.. Three days later the Queen distributed Egyptian war medals to the generals and repre* sentatives of various branches of the service at Windsor; and she also delivered a brief address to those present. On the 24th she held an investiture of orders conferred for distinguished service in Egypt. The new Law Courts in the Strand, which had been erected after the designs of Mr. G. E. Street, B. A., were formally opened by the Queen on the 4th of December. There was an imposing ceremonial. Her Majesty being received in the hall by the judges and representatives of the Bar, The Prime Minister and a great number of other distinguished persons were present Lord Chancellor Selbome was advanced to the rank of an Earl on this occasion, and the honor of knighthood was conferred upon the treasurers of the various Inns of Court, The year 1883 was an uneventful one in the life of the Queetf as regards public appearances; but in March her subjects learned with regret that she had sustained a somewhat severe accident. It appears that while Her Majesty was at Windsor Castle she slipped upon some stairs, and, falling, sprained her knee. The accident was at first regarded as of slight consequence, but it became the source of much pain and inconvenience. A month later the Court Circular announced that the effects of the sprain were still so severe as to prevent her walk- ing, or even standing for more than a few seconds. Eventually these ill effects passed away, but not until the expiration of a year from the time of the accident A great trial befell Her Majesty in 1884 by the untoward death of her youngest son, the Duke of Albany. From his childhood upward the Prince had been of delicate health. Alike from inclination and neces- sity, he had always been given to studious pursuits. As he reached 886 QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES 'AN EMPRESS. manhood he was not only proficient in mnsic and painting, bat devel- oped strong literaiy tastea. He had an excellent and refined judgment, and had gathered copioua stores of book learning. He lired a com* paratiyely retired life, snlfering mnch from a constitntional weakness in the joints, and from fi dangerous tendency to hemorrhage, which ren- dered the extremest care necessary. On several occasions his life was in danger from sadden and severe fits of indisposition. His intellectnal gifts, combined with his ill-health, rendered him an object of pride as well as of solicitude to the other members of the royal family. Towards the close of his existence he seemed, by the interest he took in literature and science, and the graceful public speeches wliich he delivered, about to take the place once held by his honored father. He had a happy mar- riage, and in 1883 a daughter was bom to him, to whom was given the name of his beloved and* revered sister, Alice. The career of this much-esteemed Prince, however, was cut prema- turely short In March, 1884, he went to Cannes to avoid the inclement east winds, leaving the Duchess behind him at Oaremont His stay in the south of France proved of considerable service in restoring his health; but on the 27th of jMarch, as he was ascending a stair at the Cercle Nautique, he slipped and fell, injuring the knee which had been hurt on several occasions before. The accident did not at first seem serious, and the Duke wrote a reassuring letter to his wife from the A'^illa Nevada, whither he had been conveyed. A fit of apoplexy eniper- vened during the following' night, however, and at three o'clock on the morning of the 28th he expired in the arms of his equerry. Captain Per- ceval. When the fatal news reached Windsor it was gently broken to the Queen by Sir H. Ponsonby. Though almost overwhelmed with her own grief. Her Majesty's thoughts turned at once to the young widow at daremont. The Prince of Wal« went over to Prance to bear the remains of his brother back to England. The Queen and the Princess Christian and Princess Beatrice met the body at the Windsor railway station. On reaching the Castle, it was conveyed to the chapel, where a short ser- vice was held in the presence of Her Majesty and her children. The afflicted Duchess of Albany bent one last look upon the bier. The fune- ral took irface on the 5th of April, the Prince of Wales being chief mourner. The father-in-law and the sister-in-law of the deceased Prince were also present. The Queen entered St. George's Chapel leaning on QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES 'AN EMPRESS. 287 the arm of the Princess of Wales, and followed by the Princess Qiris- tian, the Princesses Louise and Beatrice, and Princess Frederica of Han- over, The Duchess of Albany and the Duchess of Edinburgh were too ill to attend the funeral. The Dean of Windsor conducted the service^ and when he came to the words, ^^earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,'' Lord Brooke, the intimate friend of the deceased, cast a handful of earth upon the cofSn. With deep and evident emotion the spectators mournfully gazed upon the flower-laden coffin as it was slowly lowered into the vault and disappeared from Yieyir. Addresses of condolence to the Queen and the widowed Duchess were passed by both Houses of Parliament, and these addresses reflected the high sense of the Prince's mental powers and moral worth left upon those who were brought into contact with him. Earl Granville in the Lords, and Mr, Gladstone in the Commons, eloquently d*welt on the many claims which the memory of the Prince had upon the affectionate regard and admiration' of his countrymen. So universal and sponta* neons was the national regret for the lamented Duke that the Queen published a letter thanking her people for their symi>athy with herself and her daughter-in-law in their affliction. After some months of comparative seclusion, the Queen and Princess Beatrice left England on the 31st of March for Aix-le^Bains. From thence they proceeded on the 22nd of April to Darmstadt, traveling by way of Geneva, Berne and Bftle. At Darmstadt Her Majesty assisted at the confirmation of her granddaughter, TPrincess Irene of Hesse, which took place in the Chapel Royal. The Queen returned to Windsor on the 2nd of May. During this year she thanked the New South Wales and other colonies for their prompt offers of co-operation in the event of the extension of the war in Egypt; presented medals to a party of non-commissioned officers and men from the Soudan; and visited the sick and wounded soldiers from the Soudan at Netley Hospital. On the 23rd of July, 1885, the marriage of Princess Beatrice with Prince Henry of Battenberg was celebrated at Whippinghapi Church, Isle of Wight, in the presence of the Queen, the royal family and a distinguished party of English nobility and others; but no representa- tives of the German reigning dynasties attended. Provision was made by Parliament for the Prince and Princess, and a Naturalization Bill on behalf of the former carried through both Houses. With this wedding 288 QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. Xhe Queen saw the last of her children united in the bonds of matri- mony. Her Majesty erected many monuments at Windsor to those whom she held in loving remembrance. One of the chief attractions of the Albert (formerly the Wolsey) Chapel — ^beautifully restored by the Queen — is a pure white marble figure of the Princb, represented as a knight in armor, with the epitaph on the pedestal, ^ haye fought the good fight, I have finished my course." In St George's Chapel are five monuments. The first is an alabaster sarcophagus to her father; the second, a white marble statue to King Leopold, whom the Queen described as her second father; the third monument is to Her Majesty's aunt, the Duchess of Gloucester; the fourth to the late King of Han- over ; and the fifth to the son of King Theodore of Abyssinia. The young Prince died in England, and his monument bears the epitaph: ^^I was a stranger, and ye took me in." Theed's admirable group of the Queen and her husband stands at the entrance to the corridor which runs round two sides of the quadrangle of the Castle. The corridor contains many pictures and mementoes of events and persons relating to the Queen'^ life and reign. At Frogmore is Marochetti's recumbent figure of the Prince, and space has been left for a similar statue of Her Maj- esty. There are also memorials of Princess Alice and of the Queen's dead grandchildren in the mausoleum. In an upper chamber belonging to a separate vault is a statue of the Duchess of Kent by Theed. At Osborne are many groups, statues and busts of the Queen's children and other relatives, which served to remind Her Majesty — ^if she needed such reminders — of the happy years in the past The Queen once more opened Parliament in person in January, 1886. She was received with deafening shouts of welcome by the crowds assembled along the route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster. There was a brilliant scene in the House of Peers, where the Prince of Wales and other members of the royal family, and a gorgeously appar- eled throng of peers and peeresses had already assembled before Her Majesty's arrival. As the Queen entered the House the Prince of Wales stepped down from his State chair and raised his mother's hand to his lips, Her Majesty moving to him with a graceful gesture. The Queen then took her place on the throne. She was dressed in black yelvet trimmed with ermine, and wore the Koh-i-noor as a brooch, a small coro- net, the Order of the Garter, and the family orders. The representatives Benjamin Disraeli— Earl of Beaconsfxeld The Great Tory Statesman of the Victorian Age Daniel. O'Conneli- One of the Greatest Irish SLatesmen of the Victorian As« Daniel. O'Conxel.!- One of the Greatest Irish Statesmen of the Victorian Ag9 5 ©a la oJa d K « »; S'(5 gas "-a Vo « 2 55 » M O •go? OS I |> o « « ^ O s 2pQ "2 x: ^''^ ^«« — ** o- 2 o o cB o a a, w " S3- sg E>n»REss Dowager Frederick victoria Adelaide, eldest child of Queen Victoria, was born Nov. 21, 1840. She married Frederick III, Emperor of Germany, who aroused the world's best expectations by his goodness, wisdom and bravery. He died June 15. 1888. when 57 years old. and was suc- ceeded by his son. William II, the present reigning German Emperor. The Empress is now 61 years of age. QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES "AN ' EMPRESS. 293 of the people haying arrived from the Lower House, the Queen handed the manuscript of the royal speech to the Lord Chancellor, who pro- ceeded to read it in clear and firm tones. Her Majesty then left the House and returned to Buckingham Palace amid enthusiastic greetings from the people, similar to those which had marked her progress to Westminster. The year was destined to be fruitful in political surprises. The Con- servatiye Ministry were defeated on the laborers' allotment question during the debaces on the address, and resigned office^ Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister, and introduced his Home Rule measure. Being defeated in this, he appealed to the country. The elections were unfayorable to him, and he resigned; Lord Salisbury once more return- ing to the helm of State with a Conservative Government. On the 24th of March the Queen laid the foundation-stone of the new Medical Examination Hall of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, on the Victoria Embankment. Her Majesty was accompanied by Princess Christian and Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg, and appeared to be in very good health. She was evidently much grati- fied at the many marks of respect and loyalty paid to her by the people. The ceremony took place in' a spacious pavilion, holding about 1,000 I^ersons. The Prince of Wales, Princess Louise, Prince Christian, the Duke of Cambridge and the Marquis of Lome awaited the arrival of Her Majesty, whose advent was heralded by the strains of the National Anthem. The proceedings began with a prayer offered by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, followed by a hymn sung by the Savoy choristers to the Prince Consort^s tune "Gotha.^^ The President of the Royal Col- lege of Surgeons then read an address. The Queen in her reply said: **The erection of this hall is mainly due to the efforts you have made, in conjunction with the President of the Royal College of Physicians (Sir W. Jenner), with whom I have been long personally acquainted, and whose eminent abilities and far-seeing knowledge have justly placed him in the foremost rank of those who have benefited mankind." A number of lengthy documents relating to the origin of the hall, and to the two corporations, were then presented to the Queen, and these were mercifully taken as read. The stone, which bore the following inscrip* tion, and in which were placed the usual mementoes, was then lowered to its bed: ''Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, laid with her own hand this stone — ^24th March, 1886.'' The ^;Vt?7**;? 294 QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. Prince of Wales, who has had a ripe experience in laying foundation- stones, admirably assisted his mother in well and truly laying the stone of the new hall. The Archbishop pronounced the benediction, and after a stay of a few minutes Her Majesty left the pavilion. On the afternoon of the same day, while the Queen was taking a drive along Constitution Hill, a man ran out from the footway, and approaching close to the carriage, threw a letter into the vehicle. The package was immediately thrown out again, and as the man was stoop- ing down to pick it up, he was surrounded by a number of spectators and the police and arrested. The Queen continued her drive, though she had been somewhat startled by the incident. The offender was taken to King street police station. He gave his name as Thomas Brown, and was apparently about thirty-five years of age. The paper which he threw was a petition, setting forth that the writer had been in the army, but had been discharged and sent to a lunatic asylum. Having been released from there, he again enlisted, suppressing ail knowledge of his previous discharge and its cause. On the facts being discovered he was tried by court-martial and dismissed from the service without a pension. He now pleaded that a pension should be granted to him, as he had served Her Majesty for twenty-three years. After his second dismissal he had again been for some time in a lunatic asylum. As the doctors were not prepared to certify to his insanity, out of consid- eration for his gena'al good character. Brown was released from cus- tody. The Colonial and Indian Exhibition — the most successful and exten- sive of a series of admirable exhibitions at South Kensington — ^was opened by the Queen on the 4th of May. The Prince of Wales was the actual promoter, the executive President, and practically the director of this Exhibition, which reflected the highest credit upon the energy and exertions of His Royal Highness. The opening ceremony was very imposing, both from the dense crowds in the vicinity of the Exhibition and the brilliant gathering within the building. Her Majesty was received with the most fervent greetings. As she entered the hall the fact was announced by a flourish of trumpets. She was received by the Prince of Wales, and joined by the Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Connaught and other ladies of the royal family. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Connaught each kissed her hand, and were in return kissed on the cheek by their royal mother. A QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. ' 296 procession was formed, which proceeded tliroHgh the main portions of the bnilding to the Boyal Albert Hall, where the opening ceremony was to take place. Here the scene was brilliant in the extreme. The Queen was conducted by the Prince of Wales to the royal dais, where she took her seat on the throne. The National Anthem was then snng, the first verse in English and the second in Sanskrit. At its condnsion hearty cheers were given for Her Majesty. An ode followed, written for the occasion, at the special desire of the Prince of Wales, by the Poet- Laureate, and set to music by Sir A. Sullivan. It was sung by Madame Albani and the choir, and it was observed that after each verse the Queen smiled her thanks to the singer and clapped her hands. The Prince of Wales next read an address setting forth the nature of and the reasons for the Exhibition. Hef Majesty made the following reply: **I receive with the greatest satisfaction the address which you have presented to me on the opening of this Exhibition. I have observed with a warm and increasing interest the progress of your proceedings in the execution of the duties intrusted to you by the Royal Commission, and it affords me sincere gratification to witness the successful results of your judicious and unremitting exer- tions in the magnificent exhibition which has been gathered together here to-day. I am deeply moved by your reference to the circumstances in which the ceremony of 1851 took place^ and I heartily concur in the belief you have expressed that the Prince Consort, my beloved husband (had he been spared), would have witnessed with intense interest the development of his ideas, and would, I may add, have seen with pleasure our son taking the lead in the movement of which he was the originator. I cordially concur with you in the prayer that this undertaking may be the means of imxmrting a stimulus to the .commercial interests and intercourse of all parts of my dominions, by encouraging the arts of peace and industry, and by strengthening the bonds of union which now exists in every portion of my empire." At the conclusion of the speech the Prince of Wales kissed the Queen's hand, but she, drawing him towards her, kissed him on the cheek. The Lord Chamberlain, at the command of Her Majesty, then declared the Exhibition open, the announcement being marked by a floorish of trumpets and the firing of a royal salute in Hyde Park. A prayer was offered up by the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Hallelujah Chorus was performed by the choir; and Madame Albani sang with 296 QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. thrilling effect "Home, Sw^t Home." The Queen then bowed to the company, )ind amid loud aij^d prolonged cheers descended from the dais, and, traversing the whole breadth of the building, mounted the steps to the royal entrance. As she took her departure, followed by the royal family, she elpressed to Sir P. Cunliffe Owen her great satisfaction with the Exhibition. Only a few days after this ceremony the Queen visited Liverpool, where she opened an International Exhibition of Navigation, Commerce and Industry. Her Majesty was accompanied by the Duke of Con- naught and the Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg. During her visit the Queen stayed at Newsham House. The Exhibition was opened on the 11th of May, the Queen being the center of a brilliant throng upon a specially erected throne, while the vast body of spectators num- bered some thirty thousand persons. As soon as Her Majesty had taken her place the orchestra performed an overture by Mr. P. H. Cowen, with which had been incorporated by royal permission a chorale composed by the late Prince Consort. An address was then read by the Mayor, and presented to the Queen In a casket. Her Majesty, in clear tones, read a reply expressive of her gratification in witnessing so successful an exhibition. A prayer, offered by the Archbishop of York, and a per- formance from Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise'' followed. The National Anthem having next been sung, the Mayor presented to Her Majesty a golden key, which she turned in a model lock, and at her command Liord Granville declared the Exhibition open. The doors of the building flew open, and the fact being signaled to the North Fort, the guns were fired. Her Majesty knighted the Mayor, who rose Sir David Badcliffe, amid loud cheers. The royal party then left the EJxhibition and returned to Newsham House. Liverpool was brilliantly illuminated in the even- ing, and the Mayor gave a grand banquet at the Town Hall. On the 12th there was a royal progress through the streets of Liver- pool. The thoroughfares were lavishly decorated by private citizens as well as by the municipal body. The Town Hall and St. George's Hall were especially gay in appearance, and in front of the latter place a grand stand had been erected, which accommodated five thousand per- sons. There was a grand procession of trade and friendly societies, embracing 16,000 persons, with vehicles, bands and banners. Although unfortunately the weather was very wet, the programme was carried out in its entirety. The Queen and the royal party left Newsham House QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. . 297 at three o^clock, and aa the cavalcade drove through the streets it was everywhere loudly cheered. The route lay past the Exhibition and through Sefton Park. At the plateau in front of St. George^s Hall Her Majesty halted to receive an address from the Ck)rporation of Liverpool Presentations were then made to the Queen, after which the royal cor- tege drove off to the Princess Pier-head. Here the distinguished party embarked on board the ferry steamer Claughton, and steamed down the river on the Lancashire side, returning up the stream near the Cheshire shore. The Claughton went as far as the Sloyne, and steamed round the Great Eastern, which was then lying there. Her Majesty also had an opportunity of seeing the training and reformatory ships moored in the Mersey, and the boys of those vessels gave her a warm reception* The return journey through the streets of Liverpool was made in Bome- what better weather. The Queen did not reach Newsham House until seven o'clock, when she was much fatigued, after four hours of driving and sailing. Her Majesty left Liverpool on the 13th amid warm popular demon- strations. Before entering the train at the Exhibition station she expressed to the Earl of Sefton her deep gratitude for the cordiality with which she had been received in Liverpool. She then turned to the Mayor and told him how much pleasure she had derived from the recep- tion she had met with from all classes. The royal train steamed out of Liverpool at ten o'clock a. m., and reached Windsor at 3:15, Through Sir Henry Ponsonby the Queen gave '£100 to the poor of Liverpool, and to Lady Radcliffe she presented a costly diamond bracelet, expressing at the same time her gratification at all that had been done for the comfort of herself and her children. The Court Circular afterwards stated that Her Majesty was fatigued by all her exertions during the three days of her visit, but that she was greatly gratified and touched by the warm and kind reception which she and the Duke of Connaught and Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg met with from all classes of her subjects at Liverpool. On the 30th of June the Queen opened the Royal HoUoway College for Women at Mount Lee, Egham. The college owed its being to the munificence of the late Mr. Thomas Holloway. It was erected and endowed at a cost of a quarter of a million sterling, and it offers every luxury and comfort for young ladies who may be fortunate enough to pursue the various branches of higher education within its walls. The .A^ ass QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES AN EMPRESS. list of vteitovs on the opening day included a large number of persons distinguished in all ranks of life. The Queen, with Princess Beatrice, the Duke of Connaughti Prince H^iry of Battenberg, and Princess Louis of Battenberg, and suite, drove from Windsoi^ Castle by way of Frog- more and Bunnymede to Egham. At the entrance of the college Her Majesty was met by Mr. Q. Martin Holloway, who conducted her to the chapel, where the ceremony was appointed to take place. The choir sang an ode written by Mr. Martin Holloway, and set to music by Sir George Blyey, after which the Archbishop of Canterbury offered up a prayer. The royal party then visited the picture gallery, wh«e the contractor, Mr. Thompson, presented to Her Majesty a gold key to typify the nature of the function which she had consented to perform in open- ing the college. The key was most elaborate and costly in its desigli and construction, consisting of gold work, with a laurel wreath of dia- monds. After passing through the other portions of the college, the Queen at length reached the dais erected in the upper quadrangle, from which she was formally to open the college. When she had taken her seat upon the chair of State which had been provided, an address was presented to Her Majesty by Mr. Martin Holloway, setting forth the designs and intentions of the founder of the college. The Queen returned the following reply: *T thank you for the loyal address which you have presented to me on behalf of the governors and trustees of this college. In opening this spacious and noble building it gives me pleasure to acknowledge the generous sinrit which has been manifested in the completion by voluntary effort of a work promising so much public usefulness. I gladly give the assurance of my good will to the administration to whom the college is about to be entrusted, and I ear- nestly hope that their efforts to promote the objects for which it has been founded and planned by your relative may be rewarded by a career of abiding success/' The Earl of Kimberley, who was standing on the Queen's left, then stepped forward and said: "I am commanded by Her Majesty to declare this college open." This announcement was the sig- nal for a flourish of trumpets, after which the benediction was pro- nounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the proceedings terminated. The Queen and the royal party left the building amid loud and continuous expressions of loyalty. With this interesting public ceremonial— which adds one more testi- mony to many others evincing Her Majesty's deep interest in the welfare of her sex— the present chapter may fitly concluda CHAPTER XIL VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. Ftflj Ymn m the ThrDBe— A People's Lore and Loyalty— The Ca?akade Paaaea Tkreiiih tiia Streets of London— Eutotb of Nations in the Parade— Thanksc^Tlng Serriees in West- minster Abbey— The Night niuminatlon— The Children's FestlTal— Jubilee Honors— Par- dons to Military I>eBerterB— Women's Jnbilee Offerlntr Fnnd— Be?iew 4i tiio Troops at AMorshot-llafai Bariew at Spithead-JnbUee Gift to the Pope. THERE had been other royal jubilees in the. history of Great Britain, but none had surpassed that of the year 1887, when the whole land, together with the distant colonies and every quarter of the globe where the British flag waves, rang with >^ the voice of jubilation that the great woman who had ennobled the crown was spared in health and strength to celebrate the fiftieth year of her reign. It was a thrilling moment when, in the blaze of the glorious June sunshine, the Queen drove out through the gates of Buck- ingham Palace on her way to Westminster Abbey, just as she had done fifty years before on her coronation day. But the bright young girl was now a grey-haired woman who had seen much sorrow and battled with many diflSculties. Still, there was a gleam of triumph in her face, for were there not sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grand- children rising up to call her blessed, while the shouts of the multitudes which rent the air testified that throughout these fifty years she had retained the love and loyalty of her people. Jubilee Day, the 21st of June, was a day ever to be remembered by those who were privileged to be in London, and to witness the royal progress to Westminster Abbey. The day was observed as a national holiday, and fortunately was one of perfect sunshine. Houses and streets were profusely decorated, and the demonstrations of personal affection for the Queen were universal. Tens of thousands of persons lined the thoroughfares, especially along Piccadilly, Pall Mall, White- hall, and Parliament Street. The gorgeous cavalcade excited intense interest; the brilliant group consisting of the Prince of Wales^ the C3rown Prince of Germany, and the Crown Prince of Austria, being singled out for special admiration. too 800 VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. Whenever Her Majesty appeared, however, she was the cynosure of all eyes. She drove in State, accompanied by the members of the royal family, and by the foreign potentates and princes who were her gnests. The Thanksgiving Service in Westminster Abbey was most impressive. The interior of the Abbey had been con\pletely transformed, so as to afford the largest possible amount of sitting accommodation. An eye- witness of the ceremony thus described the scene in the Abbey, and the order of the service: **King Henry VII.'s Chapel had been shut off, and not a single monument was to be seen anywhere. The Abbey was nokore like Cologne Cathedral than the Abbey Englishmen know and love so well. At either end — that is to say, above the altar and at the western end of the choir — were two immense galleries crowded with people. On either side of the nave, too, there were galleries filled with naval and mil- itary officers and their wives. On the floor in the nave were the Judges, the Lord Mayor, the Aldermen and Common Councilors, and a host of distinguished personages. The Beefeaters kept the line of route here, but they had little to do, for the arrangements were too admirable to make over-crowding possible. The choir was reserved for minor potentates and for the attendants of the kings and princes, who were seated within the rails of the sacrarium. Between the sacrarium and the choir was the dais, a wide structure covered with red baize, with the coronation chair in the centre. On the right of the chair the princes who accom- panied Her Majesty were to sit, while the princesse» were on the left On the altar was a splendid gold alms-dish and four large bouqueta of white lilies. On one side of the dais were members of the House of Lords; on the other, members of the House of Commons, while above the peers was a diplomatic gallery, where a most dazzling exhibition of classes and orders could be seen. The Abbey, with the exception of the choir and the sacrarium, was full at ten o'clock. It was a most brilliant sight — one which will never be forgotten by those who saw it The bright hues of military uniforms and the scarlet and ermine of the judges, blended admirably with the white dresses of the ladies. The black lambswool kalpack of Malcom Ehan, the Persian envoy, and the fez of Rustem Pasha, the Turkish ambassador, were very conspicuous amid the brilliant throng. The royal children, who composed the first procession, arrived very quietly soon after ten. The Indian princes came about eleven, when Dr. Bridge played the Grand March in B fiat by Silas, succeeded by the march from ^'Lohengrin." The Indians v BoB£RT Peel. One of the Greatest Statesmen of the Victorian Age 1 1 — - ■1 11 t— ^ S — ""^^vH -s: rsfe£' 4 1 ^^ n$. ^^^H 1 ^^w run* i 1 Bi .-i-*]: ^3B :r"*^^:3gVa^ iniji 1 » *y .^ ^k^.3Site ■ ... a liSv. ' /^* V ' ^i ^^ J^r-s ■c •# * ^* Pi o 1-1 5 cp « . oBJQe M €8— C a aE"fc 9 o • « §1 ss-l Hi "^SC^ o " 01 a> •F£o IS§" O o oils •a est: VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. 803 formed a magnificent group, blazing in rose diamonds. There were the Thakur Sahibs of Oomdal, of Lieuri and of Moroi, the Maharajah of Kuch Behar, and the Bao of Eutch. Above all was the Maharajah Holkar of Indore, who seemed to be a mass of emeralds and brilliants. Almost at the same time the Sultaneh of Persia, Prince Komatsu of Japan, and other Eastern princes were conducted to their places in the sacrarium, where also the Queen of Hawaii was allowed to have a place. She wore a large number of Hawaiian orders. Then thare was a lull until about twelve, when Dr. Bridge struck up Lemmens' ^Marche Pontificale,' to welcome the foreign royalties. The Queen herself had selected this piece. It was a splendid procession. The King of Sazonj, who is blind, was led up the aisle by the Grown Prince of Austria and the Orand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. ^The kings and princes who passed to the sacrarium did so by side passages; not one of them ascended the steps to the d^s where Queen .Victoria and her family alone were to tread. Half an hour more of waiting, and then Sir Albert Woods, Garter King, who was watching at the western door, gave a signal. A voice as of many waters was heard outside, and the State trumpeters, perched aloft on the rood- screen, performed a fanfare on their instruments. The vast crowd of all that is great and illustrious in England' rose to their feet Dr. Bridge played the National Anthem, and afterwards, as the Queen's IM*oce8sion passed up the nave, a march from the 'Occasional Oratorio.' The clergy of the Abbey came first, and behind them were the Bishop of London, the Archbishop of York, the Dean of Westminster, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. After them came the Queen, attended by the princes and princesses of her family. The procession having reached the dais, the Queen took her seat on the coronation chair, and Lord Lathom and Lord Mount-Edgcumbe placed the robes of State on hei* shouldera She bowed low to the altar just before they did so, and then sat down. At that moment, when the scene was complete, the mise-en' scene was a very striking one. "The. Archbishop of Canterbury began the service with some ver- sicles. Then came the Prince Consort's 'Te Deum,' performed by a choir of three hundred voices. The Archbishop then read three special collects, after which Psalm xx., 'Elcaudiat Te Dominus,' was rendered. It had been set to music by Dr. Bridge, the chant being on the fifth Gregorian tone, second ending. The lesson, I Peter ii., 6-18, waa read i> "-- 804 VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. t by the Dean of Westminster, and then came Dr. Bridge's Jubilee anthem, ^Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighted in thee, to set thee on His Throne to be king for the Lord thy God; because thy God loved Israel, therefore made He thee king to do judgment and, justice.' It opened with a chorus allegretto. Then followed a slow movement as chorale, and finally a chorus, which was a kind of second edition of the first A unison, ^To set thee on His throne,' served as an introduction to the National Anthem, which was rendered with full band and chorus assisting the organ. The slow movement was the chorale 'Gotha,' com- posed by the late Prince Consort and written in five flats. The final chorus was given with immense effect, and when its echoes died away the Archbishop read three more collects, and pronounced the Benedic- tion. ^^It was exactly half-past one when the Queen rose and gave her hand to Lord Lathom, who assisted her from the coronation chair. The prettiest scene of all followed. The Queen held out her hand to the German Oown Prince, who reverently kissed it. The Prince of Wales came next. To each of the Princes she offered, according to custom, her cheek to be kissed, but every one of them, equally according to custom, kissed her hand. The Princesses curtsied low before the Queen, who kissed each of them, and there was quite a touching scene when three times over the Queen and the German Crown Princess saluted one another. The procession was re-formed. As the Queen passed down the choir she bowed very graciously to every Indian prince present. She then retired for a quarter of an hour, when, amid an immense outburst of enthusiasm, she passed up Parliament street on her homeward route." London, west and east, was gaily illuminated on the night of the Jubilee. Most of the houses in the principal thoroughfares exhibited appropriate devices, some of which were very striking and very costly. Displays of a similar kind were almost general throughout the country. From the north of Scotland to the extreme south of England, beacons flamed from most of the hills, and bonfires were lighted and kept bias- ing until daybreak. At ten o'clock p. m., a signal rocket, aa arranged, was discharged firom Malvern Beacon, and immediately afterwards beacon fires were blazing on all the principal promontories and inland heights from Shetland and Orkney to the Land's End. One of the most touching as well as one of the most thoughtful of the Jubilee celebrations, was a children's festival in Hyde Park, held .44. VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE, on the 22ndy throngh the generous initiative of the pnoprietop of the Daily Telegraph. Abou£ 30,000 children marched to the park in perfect order, and were there allowed to enjoy themselveB with complete freedom, games and amusements of all kinds having been arranged in the space set apart for them. Each child was provided with a meat pie, a piece of cake, a bun, and an orange, besides being presented with a mug specially made for the occasion by Messrs. Doulton. The Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and some of the Queen's royal visitors, at- tended the children's ffete, and witnessed the supreme enjoyment which it afforded to the throngs of little ones for whom it was organized. On^ of the children was brought to Her Majesty's carriage and presented to her. The Queen then drove to Paddington, and thence traveled to Slongh, whence she again drove to Eton, where she was received witl^ great enthusiasm by the college boys. In the London Gazette a long list of Jubilee honors was announced. Earl Strathmore and Viscount Galway were made peers of the realm, and peerages were also granted to Sir J. St. Aubyn, M. P., Sir William Armstrong, Sir J. M. Garel-Hogg, Mr. Sclater-Booth, M. P., Mr. E. Fellowes, and Mr. H. Eaton, M. P. Thirteen baronetcies were created, and the dignity of knighthood was conferred upon thirty-three gentle- men, including the mayors of some of the large cities and towns. Numerous appointments and promotions in the Order of the Bath, of the Indian Empire, and in other orders were also announced. A royal proclamation was issued, granting a free pardon to all deserters from military service who should report themselves to their respective com- manding officers. At Windsor, on the 22nd of June, Her Majesty received the officers and general committee of the Women's Jubilee Offering Fund. This was a fund raised by subscriptions varying in amount from a penny to a pound, contributed by 3,000,000 women of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as a present to the Queen on her Jubilee. The offering, which amounted to £75,000, was presented, together with a loyal address, which Her Majesty graciously acknowledged. On the same occasion, a handsome casket, carved out of Irish bog-oak, with a repre- sentation of the Irish harp on the cover, was presented to the Queen on behalf of Irishwomen by the Marchioness of Londonderry. In acknowledgment of the many tokens of sympathy on the part of •«Tt'. M6 VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. her people, the Queen addressed to the Home Secretary the following letter, which was published in the London Gazette: Windsor Castle, June 24- "I am anxious to express to my i)eople my warm thanks for the kind, and more than kind, reception I met with on going to, and returning from, Westminster Abbey, with all my children and grandchildren. "The enthusiastic reception I met with there, as well as on all these eventful days, in London as well as in Windsor, on the occasion of my Jubilee, has touched me most deeply. It has shown that the labor and anxiety of fifty long years — ^twenty-two of which I spent in unck>uded happiness, shared and cheered by my beloved husband, while an equal number were full of sorrows and trials, borne without his sheltering arm and wise help — ^have been appreciated by my people, "This feeling, and the sense of duty towards my dear country and subjects, who are so inseparably bound up with my life, will encourage me in my task — often a very difficult and arduous one — during the remainder of my life. "The wonderful order preserved on this occasion, and the good behavior of the enormous multitudes assembled, merits my highest admiration. "That God may protect and abundantly bless my country is my fervent prayer. VICTORIA, R and I.*' No fewer than four Jubilee functions, in which the Queen bore a part, took place during the month of July. The first was a review of Volunteer Corps at Buckingham Palace, on July 2, when the metropoli- tan and suburban volunteers, to the number of 24,000, divided into six brigades, marched past the Queen. The Prince of Walea, the Duke of Connaught, and IJrince Albert Victor appeared with their respective regiments, and the imposing spectacle excited great enthusiasm among thousands of assembled spectators. On the 4th of July the Queen visited London in order to lay the foun- dation stone of the Imperial Institute at South Kensington. This under- taking was one in which Her Majesty's eldest son, the heir-apparent, took a special interest. The Queen was received by the Prince of Wales, the President of the Institute, and by a magnificent assemblage of rep- resentatives from all parts of her dominions. An ode, written by Mr. (now Sir) Lewis Morris, and set to music by Sir Arthur Sullivan, was performed by the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society. Then followed the ceremony of laying the first stone, a block of colonial granite upwards VICTORIA'S GOLDEN lUBILEE. 307 of three tons in weight. Subsequently the Prince of Wales read an address to Her Majesty from the Organizing Committee of the Institute. In her reply the Queen said: **It is with infinite satisfaction that I receive the address in which you give expression to your loyal attach- ment to my throne and person, and develop the views that have led to the creation of the Imperial Institute. I concur with you in thinking that the counsells and exertions of my beloved husband initiated a move- ment which gave increased vigor to commercial activity and produced marked and lasting improvements in industrial efforts. One indirect result of that movement has been to bring more before the minds of men the vast and varied resources of the Empire over which Providence has willed that I should reign during fifty prosperous years. I believe and hope that the Imperial Institute will play a useful part in combining those resources for the common advantage of all my subjects, and in . conducing towards the welding of the colonies, India, and the mother country into one harmonious and united community. In laying the foundation stone of the building devoted to your labors, I heartily wish you God-speed in your undertaking." After leaving the site of the new Institute, the Queen went to the Royal Albert Hall, where she witnessed the distribution of the prizes given by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for essays on the subject of "Kindness to Animals." The total number of essays sent in was 26,525, for which more than 800 ordinary awards were made and distributed by Lady Burdett-Coutts. The principal prize-winners, 35 in number, were represented by Miss Edith Merrifield, who was called to the dais and presented with her prize by the Queen. The third public function was a grand review of troops at Aldershot on the 9th of July. The Queen had gone to Aldershot the night before, and slept in the camp. She was attended by a brilliant staff to the review ground, and 60,000 troops of all arms paraded before her. Before the march past, the Duke of Cambridge tendered to Her Majesty the congratulations of the Army upon her Jubilee, and in response the Queen expressed her sense of the love and devotion of the Army. The Duke returned to his position, and at a given signal the air was rent by the cheers of the whole mass of troops, the infantry hoisting their hel- mets into the air on the muzzles of their rifles. The troops then marched past, moving with admirable precision. The ceremony, which was per- formed by about 60,000 men and 102 guns, occupied two hours and three MM VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. f quarters. Then the cavalry and horse artillery, who had formed upon the ridge to the east of the Long Valley, advanced towards the Queen in one magnificent line about a mile in length, the flanks being lost in clouds of dust. Gradually increasing the pace till it became a gallop, they were halted after having made a fi^lendid advance, and the Queen with her escort and suite withdrew, passing through an avenue formed by the infantry. The last, and perhaps the most important event of all, was a grand naval review at Spithead, on the 23rd of July. The fleet was moored so as to form a double line of great ships, the centre of which was nearly opposite Qilkicker Point on the north and B;yde pier on the south. Between it and Portsmouth was a double line of coast-defense ships, gunboats and torpedo-boats. The vessels comprising the squadrons were anchored about a quarter of a mile apart, the space between the two col- umns being about half as much again. South of these were troopships with visitors, a large number of other steamers, and yachts. The total fleet numbered 135 vessels, including 26 armored and9unarmored ships, 3 torpedo-cruisers, 1 torpedo-gunboat, 1 gun and torpedo- vessel, 38 fijrat- class torpedo-boatSy 38 gunboats, 12 troopships, 1 paddle frigate^ and 6 training brigs. The total complement of officers and men was 20,000, and of guns about 500. The Queen embarked on board the Victoria and Albert, soon after three in the afternoon, the royal yacht being followed by the Osborne, and by a procession of boats forming a royal flotilla. The entire fleet daluted, each ship firing twenty-one guns, and, as the procession passed by, the ships were drawn up in line facing to the west, the yards of the masted vessels and the turrets, breastworks, and decks of the unmasted vessels w^re manned by the crews, the marines stood at attention upon the poop of each ship, the officers, in their blue uniforms, occupied conspicuous positions, and the men cheered with a will, the total effect being unsurpassably grand. The end of the line having been reached, a wide sweep was made to the east before the royal flotilla returned. After a little delay, doubtless due to a desire on the part of Her Majesty for time to imprint the whole scene upon her memory, the yachts continued their course. Having arrived at the very centre of the fleet. Her Majesty ordered the ships in the procession to anchor, and directed signals to be hoisted commanding the captains of all her ves- sels to attend on board her yacht. When the commanders had collected in response to the order, they had the honor of being presented to Her VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. .309 Majesty^ who expressed the great satisfaction which the display had given her, and her appreciation of the hearty reception of the crews. The Qneen and the other members of the royal family remained with the fleet nntil a qnai^ter-past seven, when the anchors of the yachts were weighed, and directions given for the return to Osborne, As the Queen left the fleet a second salute of twenty-one guns was fired. At night the whole fleet was illuminated. The Queen held a court at Windsor on the 6th of July, to receive deputations from various public bodies presenting addresses of con- gratulation. On the 13th Her Majesty, with other members of the royal family, went from Windsor to Hatfield, to be present at a garden party given by the Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury. This was her second visit to Hatfield House in the course of her reign. Space would fail us even to enumerate the celebrations in London and the provinces in connection with the Royal Jubilee. Mention, how- ever, must be made of two specially interesting events. The first was the grand ball given by the benchers of the Inner Temple on the 1st of July. Numerous covered walks were made in the rambling courts and buildings of the Inn, the whole of which was brilliantly illuminated. The second noteworthy incident occurred on the 6th, when the benchers of Qray^s Inn revived the f^Masque of Flowers,'^ which had been got up by Sir Francis Bacon, and was originally played in their hall in 1613, in honor of the marriage of the Earl of Somerset. The performance, which was an accurate reproduction of the original masque, with the addition of some songs, was attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales and many members of the royal family. On the 15th of July the Queen laid, on Smith's Lawn, Windsor Park, the foundation stone for the equestrian statue of the Prince Consort pre- sented by the women and girls of the United Kingdom. A few days later Her Majesty publicly announced her decision that the surplus of the Women's Jubilee oflTering should be devoted to the benefit of nurses or nursing establishments, and she requested a committee to advise her as to the best mode of giving effect to this intention In December a special mission was dispatched by the Queen to the pope. Its object was to present to his holiness, as a Jubilee gift from Her Majesty, a massive basin and ewer of gold repouss^ work, copied from originals at Windsor. The basin bore on the central boss, ^To His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII., from Victoria, R I., 1888.'' A report, issued* X 310 VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. by the Deputy Master of the Mint^ with regard to the Jubilee coinage, showed that the number of five-pound gold pieces coined was 53^000, and of two-pound pieces, 90,000; but none of these appeared in general circulation. The Jubilee celebrations were a tribute at once to the loyalty of the British people and the popularity of the sovereign. The enthusiasm evoked was heartfelt and sincere, and the whole nation was moved, as by one genuine and spontaneous impulse, to show its gratitude for the many blessings which had attended Her Majesty's beneficent rule. An incident which occurred in March, 1888, showed that the Queen never forgot those distinguished Elliglishmen who had served humanity and herself in foreign lands. Letters sent by Her Majesty to Miss Gor- don on the occasion of the lamented death of General Gordon at Khar- toum in 1885 were now published, together with a number of other letters^ sent by the deceased officer to his sister. The Queen declared that it gave her inexpressible grief to think that the promises of sup- port— which she herself had constantly pressed upon those who had sent out General Gordon — were not fulfilled. She keenly felt the stain left upon Eingland by General Gordon's cruel though heroic fate. It should be stated, however, that in the light of Gordon's own statements, much may be urged in favor of Earl Granville and Lord Hartington, who were respectively Foreign and War Secretaries at the period of Gordon's brave but unfortunate death. The fiftieth anniversary of the Queen's coronation fell on the 28th of June, but in consequence of the death of the Emperor Frederick of Ger- many— ^who was extremely popular in England, both on his own account and because of the noble way in which he had borne his sufferings — the Court went into mourning, and the projected ffetes were either aban- doned or postponed. Early in 1889, a most interesting meeting of the Privy Council was held at Windsor Castle, when the Queen received two Zambesi chiefs, the bearers of a special message from the African King Lobengula. It appears that Lobengula — who was the King of Matabeleland — ^in order to satisfy himself with regard to the existence of the "Great White Queen," determined to despatch two trusty envoys. They duly arrived in England, and were received by Her Majesty at Windsor on the 2nd of March; they were highly delighted with their reception, and wished VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. 311 to return home as soon as possible to tell the King and his people of what they had seen as to the power and friendship of the English. The Royal Agricultural Society determined to hold its Jubilee show this year in Windsor Great Park. Some days before its inauguration^ the Lord Mayor entertained the Council of the society at dinner. The show was opened on the 24th of June. The Queen, who only came from Scotland on the 26th, visited the show on the 27th and also on the two following days. After being visited by great numbers of persons, the show closed on the 29th. Her Majesty presented the medals given by the Royal Society and the Royal Agricultural Society to the respective winners. The Oerman Eniperor, William IL, with his naval squadron, arrived at Sjrithead on the 2nd of August. He was received by the Prince of Wales, and proceeded on a visit to the Queen at Osborne. It was under- stood that the visit was a semi-private one, and the Kaiser did not go to London. On the 5th the Emperor inspected the British flieet off Ports- jnouth. This event was to have taken place on the 3rd, but it was postponed on account of the gale and the severe weather which pre- vailed. The fleet assembled was composed of 20 armor-clads, 35 cruisers, 18 gun- vessels and 38 torpedo-boats, having a total displacement of 243,- 522 tons, and carrying 596 guns and 20,000 blue-jackets. At a banquet given by the members of the Royal Yacht Squadron on the 6th, His Majesty expressed his gratification at having witnessed a review of the finest fleet in the world. He remained also that Germany had an army equal to her requirements, and if the British nation had a fleet equal to its own wants, it would be regarded by Europe generally as a most important factor for the maintenance of peace. On the 7th the Emperor, with Prince Henry of Prussia, visited Aldershot, where a review of about 27,000 men of all arms, volunteers included, was held in his honor. Previous to the departure of His Majesty from Osborne on the 9th, the Queen reviewed the seamen and marines of the German fleet lying in Osborne Bay. Shortly before sunset the Emperor took an affection- ate farewell of the Queen and embarked on his return to Germany. The hearty reception given to the Kaiser during his visit, and the compli- ment paid to him by Queen Victoria in appointing him an honorary admiral of the British fleet, greatly pleased the German people, and the Oerman press spoke in enthusiastic language of the efficiency of the military and naval forces of England, and her value as an ally. 812 VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. The Praesian army also expressed mach gratiflctftion at the Queen hav- ing been appointed honorary Colonel of the Pmssian regiment of the First Dragoon Guards, of which the Duke of Wellington had been honorary colonel, and which regiment was henceforward to be known as *ithead from Cronstadt and was warmly welcomed by the English fleet A grand review of the fleet was held by the Queen on the 19th, and the stay of the French fleet was marked by numerous festivities. On the conclusion of the review, the Queen sent a friendly and congratulatory telegram to P!resident Camot, who immediately responded in cordial terms. The year 1892 had scarcely opened before a heavy calamity befell the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the nation^ by the death of the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the second heir to the Crown. While on a visit to Sandringham, the Duke was attacked on the 9th of January by influenza and pneumonia in a severe form. He had caught cold at the funeral of Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langen- berg, another of the numerous victims of the insidious malady which then hung like a pall over the country. In the case of the Duke of Clarence, inflammation of the lungs supervened at an early stage. All efforts to arrest the complication of disorders proved unavailing, and on the morning of the sixth day after he had been taken ill he suc- cumbed, never having rallied under the skilful treatment and unremit- ting care of which he was the object. His death, which occurred on the 14th of January, was only within a few weeks of the date fixed for his marriage with his cousin, the Princess May of Ttek. 'Str*7 314 VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. The univereal sympathy for the royal family evoked by the Princess death called forth an expression of gratitnde which showed that the bond between the Queen and her people was recognized as much by one as by the other. On the day of the Duke's funeral the following message, composed by the Prince and Princess of Wales, was published: **The Prince and Princess of Wales are anxious to express to Her Majesty's subjects, whether in the United Kingdom, in the Colonies or in India, the sense of their deep gratitude for the universal feeling of sympathy manifested towards them at a time when they are overpowered by the terrible calamity which they have sustained in the loss of their beloved eldest son. ''If sympathy at such a moment is of any avail, the remembrance that their grief has been shared by all classes will be a lasting consola- tion to their sorrowing hearts, and, if possible, will make them more than ever attached to their dear country.— Windsor Castle, January 20th, 1892." A few days later there appeared in a special edition of the London Gaaette (January 27) the following letter addressed to the Home Sec- retary: ''Osborne, January 26, 1892. "I must once again give expression to my deep sense of the loyalty and affectionate sympathy evinced by my subjects in every part of my Empire on an occasion more sad and tragical than any but one which has befallen me and mine, as well as the nation. The overwhelming misfortune of my dearly loved grandson having been thus suddenly cut off in the flower of his age, full of promise for the future, amiable and gentle, and endearing himself to all, renders it hard for his sorely stricken parents, his dear young bride, and his fond grandmother, to bow in submission to the inscrutable decrees of Providence. "The sympathy of millions, which has been so touchingly and visibly expressed, is deeply gratifying at such a time, and I wish, both in my own name and that of my children, to express, from my heart, my warm gratitude to all. "These testimonies of sympathy with us and appreciation of my dear grandson, whom I loved as a son, and whose devotion to me was as great as that of a son, will be a help and consolation to me and mine in our affliction. "My bereavements during the last thirty years of my reign have indeed been heavy. Though the labors, anxieties and responsibilities inseparable from my position have been great, yet it is my earnest prayer that God may continue to give me health and strength to work VICTORIA'S GOLDEl^ JUBILEE. 815 for the good and happiness of my dear country apd Empire while life lasts. VICTORIA, R. I.'' A memorial service for the Duke was held privately at Sandringham on the 17th. The coffin containing the body having been removed from Sandringham House to the Church, the service was performed in the presence only of the members of the family and the household. On the 20th the body of the Duke was conveyed to Windsor, where a military service was held, attended by the representatives of various foreign countries and chief dignitaries of State. Memorial services were sim- ultaneously held in St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and at nearly all parish churches, Nonconformist chapels and Jewish syna- gogues throughout the country. Services were also held in various places on the Continent and at most towns in India and the Colonies. A general mourning was observed throughout Great Britain. The Queen, who was much distressed by this melancholy event, left England in March for Costebelle, near Hyferes, a beautiful place on the French Riviera, During her stay here she received three Crimean sail- ors, and the grandson of Cartigny the Trafalgar veteran, who had died on the eve of her arrival. Leaving Hyferes on the 26th of April, Her Majesty traveled by way of Lyons, Dijon and Belfort, passed the Ger- man frontier, and reached Darmstadt on a visit to the Grand Duke. On the 3rd of May she returned to England. Towards the close of June the Queen visited Aldershot, and after laying the foundation-stone of a new church, was present at a march past of nearly 10,000 men of all arms. In consequence of the numerous complaints which were made against the Jubilee coinage, the Queen held a council at Osborne on the 30th of January, 1893, when she signed a proclamation announcing the issue of a new coinage from designs by Mr. Brock, Mr. Poynter and others, to replace that designed by Sir E. Boehm. On the 19th of Feb- ruary the Queen sent a congratulatory telegram to the Pope, on the occasion of his episcopal jubilee, wishing him every happiness. The Queen and Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg left Wind- 0or Castle on the 20th of March for Italy, where Her Majesty spent her customary spring holiday. The royal party sailed from Portsmouth to Cherbourg in the yacht Victoria and Albert. From Cherbourg Her Maj- esty traveled by a special traiUi to which was attached her private 816 VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. saloon carriage. A large box of books and some sketcUng materials were put in the day saloon to beguile the journey, as the train did not reach Florence until late in the afternoon of the 23rd. During her stay in Florence the Queen again occupied the ViHa Palmieri. King Hum- bert paid a visit to Her Majesty on the 13th of April, arriving early in the morning and returning the same night to Rome. A few days later the Queen visited the picturesque old Tuscan town of San Oimigniano, famous for its fine frescoes and pictures. She returned to England on the 26th of April, traveling by way of Milan, Lucerne, Basle, Luxem- bouri^ Brussels and Flushing. A few days after Her Majesty's arrival, official announcement was made of the betrothal of the Duke of York to the Princess May of Teck, to which the Queen had gladly given her consent The wedding of the Duke of York and the Princess May early in June created much popular enthusiasm. On the 4th a State performance of Gounod's Bomeo and Juliet was given at the Boyal Italian Opera, Coyent Garden, by command of the Queen, in honor of the guests invited to the wedding. The marriage ceremony took place on the 6th, in the Chapel Boyal of St James' Palace. Although the day had not been proclaimed a public holiday, the event was celebrated as such in most parts of the Queen's dominions. In London great preparations were made along the route of the wedding procession. In addition to the parents of the royal bride and bridegroom, there were {M-esent at the bridal ceremony the Queen, the King and Queen of Denmark, the Csarovitch, and other royal and distinguished personages. The dense crowds in the streets equaled those which assembled on the occasion of the Queen's Jubilee. Some days after the celebration the Queen addressed a letter to the nation, expressing in touching terms her sense of the welcome given to her beloved grandson, the Duke of York, and his dear bride," on the occasion of their wedding. Her Majesty again visited Florence in the spring of 1894. Accom* panied by the Princess Henry of Battenberg, she left Windsor on the 13th of March, and traveled by way of Port Victoria^ Flushing, Stras- burg, Basle, St Gothard and Milan, reaching Florence at midday of the 1 6th. The royal party took up their abode at the Villa FabbricottL Cn the 10th of April King Humbert, with the Queen Margherita and other members of the Italian royal family, paid a visit to the Queen. Her Majesty remained at Florence until April 16, whai she 1^ for VICTORIA'S GOLDEN JUBILEE. Ht Goburg on a viBit to her son, the Grand Duke. She arrived there on the evening of the ITth^ and was received with great enthusiasm by the pop> nlation. The marriage' of the Grand Duke of Hesse with the Princess Melita of Coburg was celebrated at Coburg on the lOth, in the presence of Queen Victoria (grandmother of both the bride and the bridegroom), the Emperor William, the Prince of Wales, the Ozarovitch, and other members of the imperial and royal families. On the following day the betrothal of the Ozarovitch to the Princess Aliz of Hesse was alficially announced by the Emperor William to Queen Victoria. Her Majesty reached Windsor from Ooburg on the 29th of April, after a longer stay upon the Oontinent than usual. On May 17th the Queen reviewed at Aldershot between 12,000 and 13,000 men of all arms under the command of the Duke of Oonnaught. Next day she reviewed the Berkshire and Middlesex Yeomanry in Wind- sor Great Park. At a later date, when on her way from Windsor to Osborne, Her Majesty spent a night at Aldershot camp, where she was present at a grand military tattoo; and on the following day she held a review of the troops. On the 24th of May, the Queen's seventy-fifth birthday was cele- brated with much rejoicing at home and abroad, and a review of about 11,000 troops was held at Aldershot under the command of the Duke of Oonnaught In June Her Majesty was gratified by the intelligence that a son had been bom to the Duke and Duchess of York — ^an event which provided a third lineal heir to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. Two interesting ceremonies were performed in May and June by the Prince of Wales, acting on behalf of the Queen. The first was the opening of the new buildings of the Royal College of Music at Kensing- ton, erected at an expense of £46,000 by Mr. Samson Fox, of Leeds. The second was the formal opening of the new Tower Bridge, which had been begun in 1886. The total length of the bridge and abutments^ as designed by Mr. C Wolfe*Barry, was 940 feet, and the opening span about 200 feet. The total cost of erection was estimated at £1,260,000. On this occasion Her Majesty conferred a baronetcy on the Lord Mayor, Alderman G. R Tyler, and knighthoods on the two sheriffs. The Gsar Nicholas II. was married on the 26th of November to the Princess Alix of Hesse. The ceremony took place in the private chapel of the Winter Palace at St Petersburg, and the national mourning for the late Osar was suspended for the day. At Windsor on the same day Ui VICTORIA'S GOLDEN WBILBB. Queen Victoria gave a banquet in celebration of the marriage^ and nomi- nated the Czar honorary Colonel-in-Chief of the Boyal Scots Greys. A fearful disaster which occurred early in February, 1895, led to an incident which afforded one more proof of the Queen's sympathetic nature. The North German Lloyd steamship Elbe went down at sea off Lowestoft, having on board about 400 souls, nearly all of whom were emigrants. Almost all the passengers were lost, to the number of 335. Miss Bcecker, a German governess, was the only lady passenger who survived, and she owed her life to her own pluck and to the fact that she could swim. The Queen was so deeply moved by the terrible stoiy that she sent for Miss Boecker, and learned from her own lips the full details of the sad catastrophe so far as the solitary lady survivor was aUe to explain thepu Windsor Castub (Side View.) g i S az H 8 ^1 la l CHAPTER XIII. THE DIAMOND JUBILEE— SIXTY YEARS A QUEEN. ThanksgiTiiigB of a Natioii— The Boyal Family at St. George's Chapel— 'SerrieeB in the Chiirehes of all Creeds—The ({aeeii leayes Windsor for the Jubilee Ceremonies— Her Reeeptioa at Paddlngton— Proeeedings in Parliament— The Proeession— Beantifal I>ee- orations Along the Boute— The Colonial Troops— Members of the Boyal Families in the Parade— At St. Paul's Cathedral— The Night ninminations— Dinners to the Poor— The NaTal Beyiew at Spithead. N SUNDAY, June 20, 1897, the thanksgiving services held in all parts of the British Empire, as well as in all lands without its borders where Englishmen were gathered together, fonned a fitting prelude to the great national celebration of the Diamond Jubilee. A nation felt that Queen Victoria's reign had brought manifold blessings not upon the British Empire only, but upon the whole race of man; that the lofty standard of public duty devel- oped in the United Kingdom during the sixty years, due in no small degree to the personal influence of the venerable Sovereign, had leav- ened the thought of the whole civilized world. It had sunk deep into the hearts, not of the democracy of England only and of the great kindred democracy across the Atlantic, but of all the rulers and states- men of the Old World. All of them recognized that she had filled nobly and with complete success a position of which the difficulties came home with growing force to the occupants of other thrones. She had done so by what is the simplest of all arts to those who are endowed with the natural gifts for its exercise. She had won the love of her people, and by showing in all vicissitudes a perfect trust in them had taught them to repose a trust equally implicit in her. The subjects of Queen Vic- toria's Empire, of all the many forms of religion to which the laws grant equal rights, were able on this occasion to return thanks with sincere hearts for the means by which the glories of the reign were achieved not less than for those glories themselves. The quiet ceremony of an unofficial and almost of a family char- acter at which the Queen herself assisted was most interesting. No 821 328 THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. more fitting place for such an act of thanksgiving on the part of an English Sovereign than the noble Chapel of St. George at Windsor Castle could be chosen. The simple salute given to Her Majesty by those of her children and her grandchildren who were present recalled to memory one of the most touching and effective incidents of the mag- nificent service in Westminster Abbey ten years before. The Prince and Princess of Wales, and many other members of the Royal Family, together with the colonial Premiers, many of the Ambassadors and Peers, with representatives of the learned professions and societies, attended the solemn celebration at St. PauPs. At Westminster Abbey the Peers wete present in their robes, while the House of Commons, headed by their Speaker, went in procession, as in 1887, to the service at St. Margaret's. At the Oratory, the Roman Catholics sang a Te Deum in the pres- ence of Cardinal Vaughan and of Monsignor Sambucetti, the represent- ative of the Pope, while at the great Synagogue the principal Jewish inhabitants of London listened to a special service and sang ^^Ood Save the Queen." The Nonconformist churches and chapels honored the great occasion in similar ways. The tone of the preachers was every- where the same. All of them were able to point out to the vast congre- gations assembled solid and enduring grounds for gratitude and thank- fulness. In the words of the Bishop of London at St. Paul's: "The Queen has been the representative and mother of her people. She has shared their life, she has thought their thoughts. She has pointed them the way to higher things. She has her reward. She may boast, in the Laureate's words, 'their free-lent loyalty, my right divine.' She has taught the Sovereigns of Europe how to govern a free people. She has taught the freest people of Europe how also to be the most loyal and the most devoted to an hereditary Throne." The Queen left Windsor at noon on Monday. The royal town was gaily decorated for the Jubilee commemoration, and the streets were thronged with spectators. The Palace Guard was mounted in High street opposite the White Hart Hotel. The Queen, who was accompa- nied by the Empress Frederick, Princess Christian, and Princess Henry of Battenberg, and attended by Lady Churchill and the Hon. Harriet Phipps, did not proceed direct from the Palace, but drove with the other members of the royal family from Frogmore. The Queen, the Empress Frederick, and the Princesses used for the first time the hand- THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. 323 some suite of royal waiting-rooms which hiad been erected at the west end of the arrival platform. The Queen's entry into London was made in a worthy fashion. At the arrival platform at Paddington there had been great preparations, and the arrangement for the comfort of privileged visitors left nothing to be desired. Many flags of bright colors hung from the roof. The archway to the main entrance of the station opposite was beauti- fully decorated. At the foot of the gradient up which departing car- riages go was a stand filled with the families and friends of the directors and the notables of Paddington, with crimson-carpeted ground in front from which the Paddington address was to be pre- sented to the Queen. Lower down the platform was a red baize- covered space, with an island of palms and hydrangeas at either end, marking the spot at which the Queen was to alight. At last the royal train, which was entirely new except for the Queen's special compartment, which was not new only because Her Majesty expressed a feeling of attachment to it, appeared in sight. It was as fine a spectacle as a train may be, with the royal standard fixed in front of the gorgeously decorated engine and the royal arms on the sides of it The Queen made the passage to her carriage from the train, leaning on a Highlander and an Indian, while the troops saluted and trumpets blared. She was driven without delay to the Paddington vestry platform, where she was met by the members of the Presentation Address Committee. The address was read by the Rev. Walter Abbott, Vicar of Paddington, and ran thus: "To the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty: "Most Gracious Sovereign: As representing the inhabitants of the Borough of Paddington — a portion of the metropolis with which Your Majesty has been familiar since childhood — we, the chairman and mem- bers of the Vestry of Paddington, desire to approach Your Gracious Majesty with our most respectful and heartfelt congratulations on this august and memorable occasion, when by the blessing and protection of Almighty God, Your Majesty completes the sixtieth year of a wise and beneficent reign. "That reign has witnessed great progress in every sphere of national activity, especially as regards the care of the young, the poor and the aged; whilst the ennobling influence of Your Majesty's example has been such that it would be difficult to find many persons who are 324 THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. not occupied in some endeavor to help others in the sorrows and struggles of life. ^ "The recollections of Your Majesty's ever ready sympathy, dis- played so often in times of \iational sorrow, is engraven on the hearts of your people. We are more especially reminded of your solicitous care for the humblest of your subjects in sickness and poverty by Your Majesty's gracious patronage of, and interest in St. Mary's Hospital, an interest which was also manifested at the inauguration of the hos- pital by the presence of Your Majesty's Royal and lamented Consort, and which we gratefully acknowledge is continued by your beloved and honored children. "The people of the Borough of Paddington, the population of which has grown during Your Majesty's reign from 20,000 to 125,000, grate- fully unite with their fellow-citizens in the celebration of this, the six- tieth anniversary of Your Majesty's accession to the Throne, and they earnestly pray for a continuance of all those blessings which have hith- erto been associated with Your Majesty's reign, the longest, as it is undoubtedly the most illustrious, in our country's history." The Queen's reply, which was handed by the Princess Christian to her before she presented it to Mr. Abbott, was as follows: "I receive with pleasure your loyal and dutiful address. I rejoice with you that during my occupation of the Throne the generous instincts of my people for the care of the sick, the aged, the poor, and the young have exhibited themselves with such remarkable results as we see in this parish and elsewhere, and my sympathy and good wishes shall ever be engaged in the furtherance of such beneficent work. The interest taken by my beloved husband in these charitable foundations is felt equally by the Prince of Wales and my other dear children, and I am happy to think it has formed not the weakest of the bonds of affec- tion which unite my subjects to my Throne and family." Then, after the members for Paddington had been presented, began the triumphant progress through the streets, crowded as they had never been before by an assemblage of which the whole-hearted loyalty was beyond suspicion. The slight change in the customary route, whereby Oxford and Cambridge terrace, part of the Edgeware road, were honored, was a great success. The terrace, a wide thoroughfare with gardens and trees, and another roadway in front of the houses on either side, was gaily decorated, and found room for innumerable spec- THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. 325 tators. It had a castellated archway bearing the legend, "Our Hearts thy Throne." The Edgeware road was crowded; and adorned and covered with polygot legends. These were prefiminently conspicuous at the spot where a fine triumphal arch, decorated with natural flowers, spanned the road. Its own legend was "God Save the Queen." Hard by on the left was "Willkommen." On the right, in the oldest language in familiar use in England, were the words, "Duw gadwo ein Bren- hines," which, being interpreted, are "God Guard Our Queen." Here, as at other points along the route. Her Majesty was observed from her gestures to take special interest in the decorations; and here, as else- where, there was great acclamation, which she acknowledged gra- ciously and with evident pleasure. The scene in the park, which was entered by the Marble Arch, was grand. Never were more people gath- ered together in so small a space; seldom has loyalty been so eflusiye. All down Constitution Hill the scene was similar in cliaracter, and when Buckingham Palace was reached there was a tremendous crowd in waiting. Certainly when the Queen's carriage and those that fol- lowed had disappeared within the gates of Buckingham it could not but be felt that the Jubilee had fairly begun, and that the onlens of it were favorable. The House of Lords met at two o'clock, when there was a very large assemblage of Peers. After some formal business. Lord Balisbury arose amid cheers to move an humble address to the Queen congratu- lating Her Majesty on the auspicious completion of the sixtieth yean of her reign, and assuring Her Majesty that the House profoundly shared the great joy with which the people celebrated the longest, the most prosperous, and the most illustrious reign of theii* history, and also ^ joined in earnestly praying for the continuance for many years of Her Majesty's life and health. Lord Salisbury said that during the last sixty years the frontiers of -the Empire had been continuously advancing, so that many new alien races had been brought under its sway, while many others for- merly within its boundaries had been made to feel for the first time the full benefits of its civilizing and educating influence. Vast changes in the center of political power and in the incidence of responsibility had been made, almost imperceptibly, without any disturbance of the progress and prosperous development of the nation, who were now infinitely more powerful, more united, and, above all, more knit 326 THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. together than they ever were before in their Igve and admiration for their gracious Sovereign, to whose moderation and controlling influ- ence in the working of national institutions it was largely owing that a period of much trial had been happily passed, and a height of greatness ha4 been reached. Lord Kimberly most cordially seconded the address, observing that England never before had a Sovereign who had reigned so long as Her Majesty had done without for one moment forfeiting the affections of her people. Neither had the nation ever before had a Sovereign so capable of aiding her Ministers with wise and prudent counsel, or one who had invariably acted with such absolute impartiality towards her responsible Ministers, to whatever political party in the State they might happen to belong; while among all her subjects innumerable there was not, he was sure, one who had been more constantly actuated by a paramount sense of duty throughout a life not unbroken by severe trials. In the House of Commons Mr. Balfour moved an address of con- gratulation to the Queen. Having referred to the more important events which had occurred since Her Majesty's accession to the Throne, and which served to mark her reign as an historical epoch, he pro- ceeded to speak of the passionate devotion, affection and loyalty that the Queen had inspired in the minds of her subjects. It was true that the reign of 'Her Majesty had been one of unexampled length; it was also true that it had been a reign of unexampled prosperity; yet in celebrating the Jubilee the nation was not ministering to sentiments of vanity or of vulgar feeling and display, but was really offering the homage of the national heart to the great lady who reigned over it. It was because the Queen had understood the difficult and delicate task which fell upon a constitutional Monarch to perform, that the con- stitution of the country during her reign had been able to adapt itself, without friction and without shock, to the varying needs of the great Empire. In her public life she had been an example to every Sovereign, and in her private life an example to every citizen. It was because she had shared the anxieties and triumphs of the people, and because she had been animated throughout by the national ideals, that the nation and the House of Commons, as representing the nation, delighted to do her honor. Sir W. Harcourt, in seconding the proposal, said he could add but ] THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. 327 little to the eloquent and gracious terms in which the leader of the House had introduced the motion. It was right and fitting that an address of congratulation should be presented to the Sovereign through the House of Commons, which had the highest claim to repre- sent the sentiments of the nation. Tie Queen's reign began in a new political epoch, at a period when the real enfranchisement of the people had only commenced. It was an era of reform, social, political, finan- cial, and commercial; and there was great need in those days for such reforms. For the maintenance of the vast Empire there must be a solid basis, and this could only be found in a prosperous and contented people. The speaker said he was able to testify that this was not always so. He could remember the time when disorder was rife among the masses of the people, who were impatient of suffering and of their miserable lot. Those who remembered these things could form some conception of the marvelous improvement in the stability of the nation. He well remembered the fears of those who thought that the extension of popular liberty might endanger the constitution of the country; yet under measure after measure of democratic reform each extension of popular rights had only strengthened the Monarchy. The great day of national and Imperial rejoicing upon which many hopes had been fixed for weeks and months came and went with triumphant success. Not a serious accident happened to impair the glories of a great occasion. To the framework of the moving picture of the great parade no accessory was wanting. The decorations along the route were more lavish and in better taste than they had ever been before. The stands, which many had feared to see half occupied by reason of the prodigious prices which their owners hoped to exact, were filled to overflowing. Their occupants, especially the ladies and chil- dren, added color and freshness to a scene already brilliant. In brief, it is no exaggeration to say that from beginning to end this unique celebration was perfect in itself and admirable in its surroundings The story of the day may be begun shortly after nine in the morning, in the open space opposite Buckingham Palace. That ground was already resplendent with soldiery, and every place where the general public was admitted was densely thronged. The people of the out- lying districts, indeed, had been traveling up to London and murdering the sleep of the inhabitants on their lines of march all night. Early dawn had already found spectators occupying positions in the neigh- r^r 328 THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. . borhood of Trafalgar Square, and midnight had witnessed men and women taking their places at the south end of London Bridge as soon as it had been closed to traffic. Already a brilliant assemblage was collected in front of the Palace, but the most striking feature was the gathering of spectators, standing in clear silhouette against the sky, on the roof of the Palace itself. Here, too, one or two members of Parliament, on their way to New Palace yard, but under no obligation to hurry their footsteps, halted for a long time, even until the Queen herself had started. The series of scenes which they witnessed was an ample recompense for their early rising. First came, in front of the Colonial procession, which had formed on the Victoria embankment, an advance party of the Royal Horse Guards, with the band of the same regiment. The Colonial troops themselves, which were under command of Field-Marshal Lord Roberts, V. C, were exceedingly well received, as indeed, were the Colonial Premiers. The troops consisted of Canadian Hussars, Dragoons, and Mounted Police, New South Wales Lancers and Mounted Rifles, with their graceful felt hats and brown boots, Vic- torian Mounted Rifles, New Zealand Mounted Troops, Queensland Mounted Rifles^ Cape Mounted Rifles, South Australian Lancers and Mounted Rifles, Natal Mounted Troops, Natal Carabiniers, Umvoti, Natal, and Border Mounted Rifles, Mounted Troops of Crown Colonies, Zaptiehs from Cyprus, Trinidad Mounted Rifles, and a few Rhodesian Horse. All these mounted men excited admiration and applause by virtue of their picturesque and soldier-like appearance, their good seats, and their general excellence of horsemanship. Perhaps the swarthy New Zealanders, with the mystical black and white feather in their hats were the most admired. Then, preceded by the band of the First Mid- dlesex (Victoria and St Qeorge^s), came the foot — Malta Militia and Artillery, Canadian Active Militia, Forty-eighth Canadian Highland- ers, West Australian Artillery Volunteers, Trinidad Field Artillery, West Australian Infantry, Trinidad Infantry, Borneo Police, and Trini- dad Police. Of these the Borneo men attracted the most attention. In their police uniform of Khaki these men looked wiry soldiers and no more. Nothing of the barbarous was left about them save the black and white feathers on their scabbards; but one of their number was THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. , 329 said in his nnciyllized days to have taken thirteen heads in his occupa- tion of head hunter. Next, led by the band of the London Scottish, came Jamaica Artil- lery, Sierra Leone Artillery and Frontier Police, Royal Niger Hausas, Gold Coast Hausas, British Guiana Police, Ceylon Light Infantry and Artillery Volunteers, and detachments from Hong-kong and the Straits Settlements. Meanwhile excitement grew keen at Buckingham Palace. The Duke of Connaught and Lord Methuen came galloping down; Queen's and Commander-in-Chiefs Aides-de-Camp added to the brilliancy of the gathering at the gates. Then came portions of the Naval Brigade, amidst great cheering, and Princes and Princesses, foreign and Eng- lish, in bewildering confusion. All things, in fact, were ready for a start. The windows of Buckingham Palace were lined with eager spectators, among them being the Empress Frederick. As the great procession began to move, the sun burst forth from behind the clouds, and gave assurance of an ideal day. In line were Life Guards, Dragoon Guards, Dragoons, and Lancers, batteries of Royal Horse Artillery, and bluejackets with guns, enough, and more than enough, to provide a brilliant spectacle. The total num- ber of troops employed in the procession, as guards of honor and in lining the streets (including bluejackets), was 46,943, of all ranks. Very interesting, both as a sign of the respect in which Her Majesty was held in all countries, and on account of the gorgeous vari- ety of their uniforms, were the foreign naval and military attaches; and great attention was directed to the deputation from the First Prus- sian Dragoon Guards. The officers of the Imperial Service Troops also came in for a large share of attention. Their dark-bearded faces, their upright carriage, their strange and rich uniforms, were a delight, and Su Portob Singh, in his showy uniform, excited great applause at many points upon the route. Then the carriages began. First came five dress landaus and pairs with foreign envoys. Following them were two carriages carrying the Liady in Waiting to the Princess of Wales, the Chamberlain to the Empress Frederick, the Lord in Waiting to the Queen, the Chamberlain to the Princess of Wales, the Lady of the Bedchamber, the Mistress of the Robes to the Empress Frederick, the Lord Steward, and the Lord Chamberlain. The remaining carriages were thus filled: n-/ 330 . THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. Eighth Carriage — The Prijicess Alice of Albany, the Princess Alice of Battenberg, the Princess Ena of Battenberg, the Mistress of the Robes. Ninth Carriage — ^The Princess Victoria Patricia of Connaught, Prince Arthur of Connaught, the Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Hol- stein, the Princess Feo of Saxe-Meiningen, Princess Alexandria of Bat- tenberg. Tenth Carriage — ^The Princess Beatrice of Coburg, the Princess Marguerite of Connaught, the Princess Louisa of Battenberg, the Prin- cess Aribert of Anhalt, the Duke of Albany. Eleventh Carriage — ^The Hereditary Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, the Princess Frederick Charles of Hesse, the Princess Adolph of Schom- burg-Lippe, the Hereditary Princess of Hohenlohe-Laugenburg. Twelfth Carriage — ^The Princess Charles of Denmark, the. Princess Frederick of Hanoyer, the Duchess of Teck,.the Princess of Bulgaria. Thirteenth Carriage — ^The Princess Victoria of Wales, the Duchess of York, the Princess Henry of Prussia, the Qrand Duke of Mecklen- burg-Strelitz. Fourteenth Carriage — The Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, the Grand Duchess Serge of Russia, the Grand Duchess of Hesse, the Qrand Duchess of Mecklenbui^-Strelitz. Fifteenth Carriage — The Princess Henry of Battenberg, the Duch- ess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Duchess of Connaught, the Duchess of Albany. Sixteenth Carriage — The Empress Frederick, the Crown Prince of Naples, the Princess Louise, the Duke of SaxeCoburg and Gotha. Then came the Colonial escort and a brilliant band of English and foreign Princes. The Indian escort followed, with Lord Wolseley behind them. After the Commander-in-Chief, who wore the order of St. Patrick, came the Queen's State, carriage, drawn by eight cream- colored horses, gorgeous in their new harness, ridden by postilions, with red-coated running footmen at their sides. In the carriage was the Queen and accompanying her were the Princess of Wales and the Princess Christian. Close by the carriage on horseback were the Prince of Wales in Field-Marshal's uniform, the Duke of Connaught (general officer commanding the troops), and the Duke of Cambridge. ^ The field officers' escort of the Second Life Guards, and the Standard, and the great officers and equerries followed. That splendid body, the Boyal THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. 331 Irish Constabulary, and the squadron of Rojal Horse Guards ended the procession. The long-expected pageant moved in stately majesty along its appointed course. Guns boomed in Hyde Park and the bells clanged from Bt. Paul's. Up Constitution hill, past thousands of civil servants and their families comfortably seated under the cool green trees, round by Hyde Park comer into Piccadilly and past the great houses the stream of gold and scarlet flowed like a sunlit river. The sight of it, the glory of it, the knowledge of its true meaning, evoked immense enthusiaspi. Nor was there any room for doubt that Her Majesty accepted with no ordinary pleasure the tributes of eager loyalty which were showered upon her on every side. In St. James' street, and in Pall Mall, the demonstrations of loyalty, the cheers and applause were unbounded. At Marlborough gate the rushing populace clambered onto the gates and almost prevented the police from closing them. At Trafalgar square, where the Peers sat below the National gallery, and at Charing Cross, the scene was of the most brilliant description. The procession moved up the Strand, and when the State carriage drew up by the Griffin, it was met by the Lord Mayor and his deputation, on foot. The handsome sword in its pearl-covered scabbard, which has been presented by successive Lord Mayors at this very spot to many Sovereigns since Queen Elizabeth's time, was handed to the Lord Mayor by the City Sword Bearer, with a low obeisance. The Lord Mayor held the hilt towards Her Majesty, who merely touched it, and ordered him to lead the way towards the city. The Lord Mayor mounted his horse, and with head bared and sword held aloft, he rode to St. Paul's, followed by the carriage of the Queen. Of the pomp of the surroundings and the solemnity of the Bcene at the Cathedral, all those who were present certainly carried away a lasting impression. Away through Cheapside and King William street, past the Monument, and over the dancing river the procession moved, and in the south the crowd was even greater. Her Majesty still received the same homage of ovation. Past the Obelisk in St. George's road, past the stands occupied by the members of Parliament at Westminster, and the end was near. The scene was here perhaps the grandest from a spectacular point of view of any point along the line. A glance towards the Horse Guards parade from the Mall just before the head of the procession entered, showed such a brilliant 333 THE DIAMOND JUBtLEE. framework of living scarlet to the picture as has rarely been seen; and the dark buildings in the background, with the green trees on the right and left, brought out the brightness and color to a remarkable degree. Her Majesty left the Palace at a quarter to eleven, and she returned at a quarter to two, so that the procession and services at the Cathedral together occupied exactly three hours. When the royal carriage approached the Palace, and when all the assembled Princes saluted the Sovereign, it would have been impossible to exceed the fervor of the popular demonstration. Thus, then, did Her Majesty's Jubilee progress, or rather triumph, end. Surrounded by the Princes of the great kingdoms of the world, she re-entered the Palace, as she had left it, amid manifestations of loyalty and love. At night the center of London was a dream of beauty. To one approaching the mansion house from the westward, the first impres- sion produced was that of a flickering glow of many colored lights through a haze rising above the heads of a multitude of people. But a closer approach revealed the softness of the coloring and the elegance of the designs. Great attention was naturally paid to the illumination of St. Paul'a Cathedral by searchlights. It had not been deemed safe to illuminate the dome in the ordinary fashion — ^to outline it with glow-lamps of gold and amber and all the colors of the rainbow. That, it was feared, would endanger the Cathedral, although as a matter of fact stone and lead, the materials of which the dome is mainly composed, do not catch fire at all easily. Certainly a thousand greater risks of fire were run elsewhere in the city. But St. PauPs is a national treasure and must not be risked. So the new plan was tried, and the result, if not remarkably striking, was pleasing in a modest way. At first a bright light was shed upon the golden cross, and the globe on which it stands, alone. It was a clear night, and even before the searchlight was thrown the cross stood in visible outline against the sky. But when the searchlight found it the cross seemed to glitter in the heavens; the light grew stronger, and the whole dome was touched. The weather- beaten and smoke-begrimed lead remained dark and gloomy, but the stone at the base stood out white and clear, and the watching thou- sands greeted the view with hearty applause. The general illuminations in the city were on a most extensive scale there being not a single thoroughfare of any importance throughout THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. ' 333 the "one square mile^' which did not have Bome display more or less noteworthy. In many side streets, too, there were tokens, humble though they might be, to show the love which was universally felt for the Queen. The principal illuminations were, of course, along and immediately adjacent to the line of route of the royal procession, and it was a noticeable feature how extensively floral and other decora- tions had been blended with the lights, the effect produced being very striking. All over the country bonfires had been prepared in readiness for a simultaneous display of beacons, and these were lighted at ten o'clock. In England, Ireland, and Wales detonating rockets were sent up five minutes before the time arranged to light the fires, to call attention from the larger heights, and at ten o'clock star rockets of magnesium light were sent up and the bonfires lighted. In Scotland the same arrangements were carried out half an hour later. The total Dumber of fires in the United Kingdom was about 2,500. The Queen was again called upon Wednesday to bear .a prominent part in the ceremonies commemorating her Diamond Jubilee. Early in the afternoon Her Majesty received separately each House of the Legislature, who waited upon her — ^the Peers headed by the Lord Chan- cellor and the Ck)mmons by the Speaker— to present to her their addresses of loyal congratulation. To these addresses Her Majesty made a brief but cordial response. Shortly before six o'clock the Queen, accompanied by the Empress Frederick and the Princess Chris- tian, left the Palace for Windsor, and paused on Constitution hill to review, in the presence of a vast and enthusiastic crowd of spectators, 10,000 children from all the board and other elementary schools of London. A managing committee, including Lord Londonderry, the Bishop of London, Cardinal Vaughan, and representatives of other schools, were in attendance, and presented addresses, to which Her Majesty graciously responded. The royal party then drove to Paddington, and traveled by the royal train to Windsor, where great preparations had been made for Her Majesty's reception. The streets were profusely decorated, and the crowds of enthusiastic spectators were very large. At Slough, Eton, and Windsor several addresses of congratulation were presented and acknowledged, and the Queen then returned to the Castle, after the two most memorable days of rejoicing in the whole of her long reign. 334 THE DIAMOND JUBILEE, The Jubilee Dinner, provided from a fund originated at the sug- gestion of the Princess of Wales for the poor of London, was given on Thursday to about 310,000 persons in fifty-six different districts. Many of these dinners were served in large halls, but in some cases where the applicants were unable to attend the meals were sent to them at their homes. The Princess of Wales requested the Lord Mayor to for- ward to all the different districts a message to the effect that, though she would unfortunately be unable to be present at all the dinners, she would be with the recipients in spirit, hoping they would enjoy them- selves and give three cheers for their Queen. The message was duly circulated and was everywhere cordially received. Accompanied by the Prince of Wales the Princess visited three of these dinners — at the People's Palace, where 1,000 crippled children were entertained, at the Ce^tral hall, Holborn, and in Clerkenwell. At many of the centers the dinners were followed by entertainments. The Jubilee Naval Review at Spithead, which was in some respects an even more remarkable and characteristic feature of the national rejoicings than the great procession of the previous Tuesday, took place Saturday, and brought the week to a fitting close. The, weather during the greater part of the day was ideal, the gathering of specta- tors on sea and shore was enormous, and the success of the display was altogether complete, and was not marred by any serious accident. The British war vessels which had been gathered for the review were 173 in number. They were arranged in four lines, each about five miles in length, along the noble anchorages between Portsmouth harbor and the Isle of Wight; and outside them were two other lines, one com- posed of the war vessels sent by foreign i)owers to represent them at the review, and the other of special merchant vessels, which were crowded with guests and visitors. Most of the larger warships — ^the battleships and cruisers — ^were essentially of modem type, having been built since the prior Jubilee review in 1887; and the same may, of course, be said of the majority of the torpedo boats and destroyers. From an early hour on Saturday morning until near the time appointed for the review there was a continuous arrival at Portsmouth of trains, special and regular, from London and elsewhere, filled with intending spectators. Among the first to arrive were the Colonial, Asiatic, and African troops, who marehed from the railway station to ^. _ JSr-j^. ' THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. 335 the town hall, where they were greeted with an address of welcome by the Mayor, and then proceeded, amid loud demonstrations of popular enthusiasm, to Southsea pier, where they embarked on the steamer Eoh-i-noor. Nearly all the foreign Princes and other distinguished visitors who were present in London on account of the Jubilee, a very large proportion of the members of both Houses of Parliament, and other prominent persons were among those present at the review. The Prince of iWales, accompanied by the Duke of Saxe-CJoburg- Ootha and the Duke of York, reached Portsmouth shortly before one o^clock, and went immediately on board the royal yacht Victoria and Albert. At two o^clock the procession of yachts, led by the Trinity yacht Irene, and including the Victoria and Albert; the Carthage, with the royal guests and their suites; the Alberta, with other distin- guished visitors; the Admiralty yacht Enchantress ;j>;the Wildfire, with Mr. Chamberlain and the Colonial Premiers; the Eldorado, with the foriegn ambassadors; the Danube, with the members of the House of Lords; the Campania, with the members of the House of Commons; and the Fire Queen, with the guests of the Commander-in-Chief, left Portsmouth harbor and proceeded to steam along a track which took them successively between all the lines of war vessels. Soon after the royal yacht was clear of the harbor the first gun of the royal salute was fired from the Renown, the flagship of Admiral Salmon, and the firing was taken up by all the ships in succession, while the crews "manned ships," cheering vehemently, and the bands struck up the National Anthem. During his progress through the lines the Prince of Wales stood on the bridge of the Victoria and Albert and returned the salute of each ship as it passed. When the royal yacht had returned to a position opposite the Renown she anchored, and in response to a signal the fiag officers from all the vessels came on board and were received by His Royal Highness, who heartily congratulated them on the appearance of the fieet and the admirable way in which all the arrangements had been carried out. Shortly afterwards the Victoria and Albert returned to the harbor, and the royal party had scarcely landed before a violent thunder-storm broke over the fieet. In the evening the Prince of Wales with other members of the royal family made another tour of the fieet to witness the illumination, which was most successfully carried out and furnished a brilliant spectacle. To the end fortune smiled on the splendors of the Jubilee. As on 336 THE DIAMOND JUBILEE. TueBday the dullness of the morning was suddenly illumined when the Queen left Buckingham Palace, so on Saturday the weather was glo- rious during the review^and it was not until all was over that a thunder- storm broke over Portsmouth, and this was only temporary, for it passed off before night, and enhanced rather than detracted from the brilliant effect of the illumination of the long array of ships. The last royal salute was the formal close of this memorable day. The illuminations were still continued for a little time, but at midnight the flagship ^^switched off," and in a little more than a minute all the fleet was dark. Then could be seen what was scarcely noticed before — ^that the steamers, large and small, and the yachts and other vessels which surrounded the warships on all sides had contributed not a little to the splendor of the scene. Their illuminations were gradually extin- guished, and soon the riding lights of countless vessels alone were visible, while overhead the stars, long obscured in the gloom left by the storm, began to reassert the eternal supremacy which human effort had for a few moments rivaled and eclipsed. Weary, but glad at heart for the brilliant success which from first to last had crowned the events of the week, the populace retired to rest, filled with inspiring thoughts of the Empire, and of loyal respect and sympathy for the beloved Sovereign in whose person, even more than in her office, its unity was so nobly embodied. Queen Victoria at Vabious Ages— Plate I. 1, Aa« 4. 2, AOB 6. 3, Age 8. 4, Age 9. 5, Age 10. 6, Aqe 11. 7, Age 18. 8, Age 19. 9^ AGE 1& lOi Age 19. 11, Age 20. 12, Age 20. 13, Age 21. 14. Age 23. 15, Age 23. QXTEEN TiCTOKIA AT TARIOUS AGES— PLATE II. 16, Age 24. 17, Age 25. 18, Age 27. 10, Age 23. SO. Age 35. 21, Age 42. 23, Age 43. 23, Aqb 44. SA. Age 4& 2S. Age 46. 26. Age 47. 27, Age 43. 28, Age 51. 29, Age 53. 90, AOB 50. 31. AOB 78. CHAPTER XIV. AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. War with the Boen— Dr. Jameson'B Raid— Tronble wiOi the Ashantb— Frlnee Henry ef Battenberg Yolnnteers His 8erTiee»-He ig TalLen III in AMcar-Hls Heath— Hie (Jneen'B Grief— The Bemains Bronirht to England— Impeeing Funeral Ceremoniea— Marriage ef the Prineeis Mand— The ({neen Attains the Longest Beign of Sn^^ish SoTereigns. THE year 1886 opened in gloom so far as British relations with the Transvaal and South 'Africa generally were concerned. On the very first day of the year England was startled by the news that Dr. Jameson had crossed over into the Transvaal territory with armed troops. It appears that the leading inhabitants of Johannesburg had sent an urgent appeal to Jameson at Mafeking, alleging that the position of affairs in the Transvaal had become so crit- ical that at no distant period there must be a conflict between the government and the Uitlander or ^'outlander^ population. After making strong complaints of both the internal and the exter- nal policy of the Boer government^ the letter of appeal proceeded to point out that in the event of a conflict thousands of married men, women and children would be at the mercy of well-armed Boers, while property of enormous value would be in the greatest peril. The signatories of the letters felt that they were justifled in taking any steps to prevent the shedding of blood and to insure the protection of their rights, and they therefore felt constrained to call on Dr. Jameson to come to their aid. They guaranteed any expense that might reasonably be incurred, and declared that only the sternest necessity had prompted their appeal. In response to this letter Dr. Jameson crossed the frontier near Mafe- king with 700 men. President Erflger applied to the High Commis^ Bioner at Cape Town to know whether the entry of an armed British force into the Transvaal had taken place with his knowledge and per- mission. The High Commissioner replied that he had no knowledge of the steps; that if the report were true. Dr. Jameson had acted wholly on his own responsibility, and that as soon as the report waB received messages were despatched to the frontier to recall any force that might tie 340 'AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. have moved. Urgent messages for Dr. Jameson's recall were also despatched from the Colonial Office, but the absence of all news from the Transvaal led to the supposition that the wires had been cut. Dr. Jameson's force was said to be well provisioned for a four days' march; the message for his recall was accompanied by a message to President Krflger, calling on him to exert his authority to prevent hostilities, and offering the co-operation of the British Government to bring about a peaceful solution. Official intervention came too late, however, as fighting had already begun. One report affirmed that Dr. Jameson had received the High Commissioner's messages, but had disregarded them, under the belief that the situation in Johannesburg had become critical. Jameson's force was attacked on its march towards Johannesburg, and driven from several positions. The Doctor was then surrounded by a large force close to Krugersdorp. Jameson and his band fought with great determination; but as the support promised the leader from Johannes- burg failed to arrive, he was compelled to surrender with all his force. About seventy men were killed or wounded. Mr. Chamberlain addressed a telegram to Sir Hercules Robinson, regretting that Dr. Jameson's disobedience had led to deplorable loss of life, and instructing the High Commissioner to do his best to secure generous treatment for the pris- oners and care for the wounded. The directors of the British South Africa Company met and repudiated Dr. Jameson's action, and Mr. Cecil Rhodes subsequently visited England to tender further explanations to the Home Government. President Krftger gave orders that the prisoners should be humanely treated, and he voluntarily decided to surrender Dr. Jameson and his fellow-prisoners to the British Government. Upon this, the following telegram was sent by Mr. Chamberlain to Sir Hercules Robinson at Pretoria: Give the following message to the President of the South African Republic for me: "I have received the Queen's commands to acquaint you that Her Majesty has heard with satisfaction that you have decided to hand over the prisoners to her Government This act will redound to the credit of Your Honor, and will conduce to the peace of South Africa, and to the harmonious co-operation of the British and Dutch races, which is neces- sary for its future development and prosperity." ^AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. 341 The President, replying through Sir H. Robinson, reiterated his intention to remit the prisoners to England, there to be tried and pun- ished for their invasioivof the Transvaal. An amnesty was granted to all other disaffected persons who laid down their arms. Dr. Jameson was sent to England to be put upon his trial, and negotiations were entered into between the Colonial Office and President Krflger to adjust the status of the Uitlanders. Another difficulty, and one that was destined to have a tragic result for a member of the royal family, was that which arose with the King of Eumassi, who in 1894 declared himself King of Ashanti. The trouble began apparently through the action of the French agents in Ashanti, who were trying to establish French influence there. The British authorities thereupon told the King that if he allowed this to be done he would be at once called upon to pay the balance of the war indemnity owing to the British Government Matters drifted along in a very unsatisfactory manner, the forward policy of England in the Gold Coast Colony being greatly hampered by the King. At length an ultimatum was despatched to His sable Majesty, requiring him by the 31st of October, 1895, to signify his consent to the presence of a British Com- missioner at Kumassi, and to the establishment of a British protectorate over Ashanti. It was also stipulated that he should abandon human sacrifices, slave-trading, and the subjugation of neighboring tribes. The King, however, took no notice of the ultimatum; and after waiting for some time, it was decided to send an expedition against him, under the command of Sir Francis Scott. A battalion of troops of the line was also chosen for service. It was this expedition which had a fatal termination for Prince Henry of Battenberg. Before this time, although the Prince did not shrink from taking an active part in public affairs, he had never obtruded himself in them. But being born of a family of soldiers, it may readily be believed that had circumstances been other than they were, the Prince would gladly have embraced an active military career. Consequently, when it was announced that an Ashanti expedition was being organized, he eagerly seized the opportunity of taking the field, and volunteered to accompany it. Had there been opportunity for him to do so, there is no doubt that he would have distinguished himself. As it was, his presence with the exp^itionary force was believed to have been by no means without effect upon the chiefs of various native . 342 AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. tribes with whom negotiations were carried on, his exalted position as a son-in-law of the Queen making a decided impression upon their minds. The Prince's off w ef serrice haying been accepted by the War Office, it was arranged that he should be attached to Colonel Stopford's com- posite battalion, which was ordered to leave Aldershot on the 7th of December, and to proceed to the Royal Albert Docks, there to embark on the P. and O. steamer Coromandel, which the Government had char- tered to act first as a transport to convey the composite battalion to Accra or Cape Coast Castle, and then as a hospital ship at or near the base from which the Expeditionary force would proceed into the interior. Just about the time when the Prince's voluntary services had been accepted by the War Office authorities, all sorts of absurd rumors got into circulation, one of which was to the effect that he would not accom- pany the force to which he was attached, but would occupy a special saloon on a steamer bound from Liverpool for the West Coast of Africa. This rumor caused the keenest annoyance to Prince Henry, who had ^ been most careful to impress upon the authorities that he desired noth- ing better than to share the lot of his comrades and to "rough it" in common with the officers with whom he desired to serve. Holding no military rank, the Prince took the position of an auxiliary simply, but he subsequently became military secretary to the commander-in-chief of the expedition. Prince Henry took leave of the Queen on Friday, the 6th of Decem- ber. On Saturday, the 7th of December, the Special Service Corps, detachments of Royal Engineers, and the Medical Staff Corps left Aider- shot for London, where they were to embark on board the Coromandel. Prince Henry accompanied the corps, and Princess Henry of Battenberg and the Duchess of Connaught were present when the Duke of Oon- naught made his final inspection of the drafts in the Stanhope lines. Later on their Royal Highnesses attended to bid a last farewell to Prince Henry of Battenberg and the troops at the railway station. Just before the troops left, a telegram, stated at the time to be from the Queen, was handed to Prince Henry, and, amidst much cheering, the train steamed out of the station, the massed bands playing "Auld Lang Syne.^ The special train from Aldershot reached the docks at 1:25 and drew up alongside the great shed in which the troops were to be inspected 'AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. 343 prior to going on board. The first to alight and take up a position on the parade was Prince Henry. As lie held no command, he took up a position at one side of the parade, while the respective companies were formed up for inspection by Lord Wolseley. During this temporary wait a press representative had a short conversation with the Prince, who, referring to the fine physique and general turn-out of the troops, said: "Yes, they are all picked men, you know, and a fine lot of fellows they are. Look at those Guards, for instance.'* Asked if he thought serious fighting was really anticipated. Prince Henry said: "You never know how to take these natives, and, of course, it is difficult to say; but my personal opinion is that the climate will be one of the most serious obstacles to the expedition. However, these fellows look fit and well enough to withstand either that or the Ashantis, or both, and I | have no doubt they will give a good account of themselves." Prince i Henry was among the last to embark, and was heartily greeted by the headquarters staff. The steamer left the Thames on Sunday morning, the 8th of December, at half-past five. She reached Las Palmas on the following Friday evening, the 13th of December. The Prince was ^ then reported to be in "excellent health.'' The Coromandel sailed again the same evening. Cape Coast Castle was reached on Christmas morn- ing. Friday was also spent at Cape Coast Castle, but at three o'clock on the following morning the Prince started off with the headquarters staff and was again reported to be in "excellent health," when he arrived with Sir Francis Scott and Prince Christian Victor at Akroful on that Saturday afternoon. They pushed on still further to Mansee that same evening, though the heat was most oppressive in the forest and bush they traversed. Prince Henry seems to have then first felt the enervating dampness of the climate, because, in order to escape as much as possible the debili- tating influences of the heat, he got up the next morning at a very early hour, had out his bearers, and started off in advance of the staff. He and Prince Christian Victor were treated in exactly the same manner as the other officers, each of whom had at his disposal a hammock carried by four men, the bearers being changed at intervals. Sula was reached that day, and Assim Yan Eumassi on Monday. These marches were still through thick African forests, in oppressive heat A halt was made during the following day, and it was on this New Year's Eve that the palaver took place with the King of Akim-Aehanti, to whom Priuc? 344 AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. 4 Henry was introduced by Sir Francis Scott ^^as the liusband of one of Queen Victoria's daugliters,'' His Boyal Higliness tliereupon becoming an object of yery especial interest to chiefs and headmen. While the staff was at this post it was announced that the Prince had been appointed military secretary to the Commander-in*Chiet At Praten, the next post, a stay of some days' duration was made by the staff. Essiaman was reached by the Prince and headquarters staff on January 6. The climate was now beginning to tell on the troops, and the principal medical officer set out to inspect Mansehill, which lies at an altitude of 1,500 feet, with the yiew of establishing a sanatorium there. The first news of Prince Henry's illness was received in a Beuter telegram, from Kwisa, dated January 10th; the message, stating that ^'Prince Henry of Battenberg has had a slight attack of fever, and has gone back to the base in charge of Surgeon-Captain Hilliard." The War Office had a telegram dated January 12th; Cape Coast Castle: "Bat- tenberg just arrived at Prahsee; state of health worse; will remain at Prahsee." Telegraphic communication was about this time much inter- rupted by the broken cable between Bathurst and Accra. The next news was dated January 15, and was contained in a Beuter telegram from Mansee: **Prince Henry of Battenberg passed a restless night, but his temperature is lower this morning. The Prince's strength is good, and he will continue his journey to the coast." A telegram from Cape Coast Castle, dated January 17, announced that the Prince had embarked that day on board Her Majesty's cruiser Blonde, for Madeira. Surgeon-Captain Hilliard accompanied His Boyal Highness. The tele- gram added that "The Prince, though weak, showed no grave symp- toms." The war with Ashanti had a speedy and satisfactory termination for England. On the 17th Sir Francis Scott occupied Kumassi unopposed, and King Prempeh accepted all the British demands. There was uni- versal native rejoicing along the Gold Coast at the bloodless victory of the British, and the prospect which it offered of a resumption of trade and the return of prosperity. On the 20th of January the <^ueen reoelved with much gratification a message from Sir Francis Scott to the effect that he had made a peaceful entry into Kumassi. That the personal news respecting the Prince was regarded as hopeful is shown from the f^ct that on the same ^. AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. 345 evening the Queen — ^accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Con- naught, Princess Henry of Battenberg, the Marchioness of Lome and the Marquis of Lome, M. P. — ^was present at a private performance of Mr. Pinero's Money Spinner, given at Osborne. The Indian Room was decorated, and provision was made for about 100 guests. The principal parts were played by the Earl of Dartmouth, Mr. H. H. Share, R N., the Hon. A. G. Yorke, Colonel Arthur Collins, the Hon. Mary Hughes, the Hon. Aline Majendie and Miss Evelyn Moreton. The performance was so successful that Her Majesty ordered it to be repeated. ^ Within a few days, however, the Court and the nation were plunged in gloom. On the 22nd the sad news arrived that the Prince had died on the night of the 20th, on board the cruiser Blonde, which was con- veying him from Cape Coast Castle to Madeira. The attack of African fever from which the Prince was suffering had shown no very grave symptoms up to the time when he embarked on board the Blonde, but on the 19th there was a relapse, from which he was too weak to rally. At the time of the Prince's death the cruiser was not far from Sierra Leone, and she at once put back for that port, whence telegrams were despatched to the Queen at Osborne, to the War Office and to the Admiralty. The news was a terrible shock to Her Majesty and to the widowed Princess, whose latest previous information as to the state of her hus- band's health had been favorable. Under the Queen's own sign manual it was announced that she was most deeply afflicted in seeing her beloved daughter's happy life crushed, and in losing a most amiable and affectionate son-in-law, to whom she was much devoted. The Princess Beatrice, thinking of her children, sustained the awful shock with com- mendable fortitude and resignation. The review by the Queen of the Flying Squadron, which had been appointed for the 22nd, was at once abandoned, and all other State arrangements were cancelled. The Prince's death evoked widespread sorrow and sympathy in London, the Isle of Wight and elsewhere, where he was known and greatly esteemed; and a constant stream of telegrams and letters of condolence were forwarded to the Queen by Cabinet Ministers and others. Lord Lansdowne, Secretary for War, in addressing a Unionist meeting at Salisbury, paid a warm tribute to the memory of the Prince, who, he said, had died in the service of his coun- try as truly as if he had fallen on the field of battle. 346 AFRICAN EVENTS TO THE FORE. When the news of the Prince's death first avriyed it was the Queen herself who, with the Duke of Connaught, undertook to communicate the sad tidings to Princess Beatrice. The Princess at first scarcely realized the dreadful news. Bhe had naturally been anxious regarding her husband's health for some days, but all the reports agreed that he was getting better; and so satisfied were the royal family of this that a dinner party was to have been given the same night in honor of the officers of the Flying Squadron, to be followed by a theatrical perform- ance at the Palace. Sir James Beid, the Queen's physician, reported that Her Majesty and Princess Beatrice were well in health but over- whelmed with grief. They had, however, some small consolation in the knowledge that Mr. Butcher, Prince Henry's trusted personal attendant, was with him when he died. The Prince and Princess of Wales and their family were at Sandringham when the mournful intelligence of the Prince's death reached them. A distinguished naval officer who was brought into frequent contact with the deceased Prince said, on being asked what object His Boyal Highness had in taking part in the Ashanti Expedition, which, on one side at least, was as grim and terrible as anything in modern war. The British-Egyptian force, armed with repeating rifies and shell-fire, had no difficulty in annihilating an army of more than 100,000 men* The Khalifa attacked first in front, and then on the flank. In the first S54 / LAST YEARS OP VICTORIA'S REIGN. SST cliasge he had to advance over ground that eloped gently downward for a mile and a half towards the British line. IX was a mere headsman's block on which the Dervish army laid its neck. The long line of chant- ing, white-robed warriors breasted the crest of the ridge, and as it advanced it encountered a simoom of bullets, before which it quickly melted away, leaving the plain white with dead. f A subsequent assault on the allied forces' right had at least a mo- mentaiy chance of success. For one horrible second it seemed as if the Egyptian troops would flinch. Two guns had been abandoned, and it was, as a British officer put it, ^^regular touch and go." But the First Brigade came up, three gunboats on the Nile got into range with their shells, and it was all over. After the battle, 10,800 Dervish corpses were counted on the field; and 16,000 were reported wounded.^ In the town 400 more were killed — chiefly in one street, where the Der- vishes, fighting mad, had to be cleared out by Maxims, and died literally in heaps — and there were 4,000 prisoners. The British loss was one officer killed, thirteen wounded; men killed, 23; wounded, 99. Egyptian officers killed, 1; wounded, 8; men, twenty killed, 221 wounded. Mere valor counts still. But it is not a deciding factor. In this battle it might with truth be said, "Valor is cheap to-day." The Twenty-first Lancers, not more than 300 strong, rode through 2,000 Dervishes, almost the only bit of hand-to-hand fighting of the old sort that took place in the con^ct If mere valor had decided it, then the Dervishes had been victors. Their foemen spoke of them with unani- mous acclaim as the bravest of the brave. The allied forces could not have been driven, no matter by what incentive of patriotism or disci- pline> to face the fire-blast into which the Sons of the Desert fiung themselves with joy. They fought as befits men who were making the last and the supreme rally of savage humanity against the perfected ^ machine of scientific valor. They fought and fell, and with them passed away probably forever from the earth the notion that mere heroic valor, backed by the mightiest thews and sinews> can any longer count as the deciding factor in the wars of the world. While the question of war or peace between the United States and Spain^ was still undecided, public opinion in England found decided exptreMion in favor of the United States; and after the outbreak of hostilities the good-will of the people of Gireat Britain was ever more 3t(6 LAST YEARS OF VICTORIANS REICN. and more plainly manifeBted. In all this there was, especially at firsts a very candid confession that this feeling was not only on account of the "kinship" of the two nations, but also for the reason that the self interest of the British people for the stability of their empire and the security of their commerce would be better served by a triumph of American arms in the war. The general aspect of the Asiatic problem had at this time showed a decided change, chiefly as a result of the Russian eastward advance. The political center of gravity was shifted from the Pamirs and the valley of the Oxus to Manchuria and the Chinese coast. It was to Great Britain that the change was of the deepest portent, as it necessi- tated a radical departure from her former. lines of action. Heretofore interested chiefly in her Indian empire, she strenuously sought to safe- guard its northern and northwestern frontier against a Russian onslaugjht by gradually pushing forward her military posts and court- ing the favor of native potentates, particularly the Ameer of Afghan- istan, whose territories might serve as buffer states to lessen the force of any collision. In doing so England had always assumed that the Caspian and the valley of the Oxus would be the limit of the Russian onward movement. But now, by a sudden, mighty move, Russia disclosed another line of advance and upset the political ideas of a century. From her safe po- sition as the first land power in Central Asia, Russia stepped to the less assured position of a naval power in the extreme East. While this gave her a double choice of attack on British interests, it also put her under a new necessity of defense. For the Indian government, its special significance was in the fact that the rivalry of England and Russia in Asia was now revealed, not as a question of Indian, but of Imperial interest; as a burden not to be borne alone, as heretofore, by the Indian taxpayer, but by the united sea and land forces of the British Empire. In South Africa affairs were reaching a critical point. At Johannes- burg, on December 24, 1898, a mass meeting of Uitlanders was held, for the purpose of agreeing upon a petition to Queen Victoria, praying for protection from the Boer police. The object of the meeting was frus- trated by the presence in the hall of bands of armed Boers. They occupied the hall an hour before the time set for the meeting, and from the galleries threw down boxes, chairs, and tables upon the }h^. LAST YEARS OF i^ICTOktA'S REIGN. ^ 359 assembled UitUnders. The whole interior of the place was wrecked in the melee, but the police were passive spectators. Many tJitlanders were injured. Another public meeting of Uitlanders was called for January 13, 1899, to protest against the arrest of the officers of the pre- vious meeting on the charge of violating the Public Meetings Act, and to approve the petition to the Queen. An enormous crowd was present at the meeting, ^e majority being Boers and other Afrikanders. When the secretary began to read the petition, the crowd made such noisy demonstrations of hostility that not a word of the petition was heard: the meeting became a free fight, chairs and benches being broken up and used as weapons. The grievances of the Uitlanders were even more serious at this time than they were before the Jameson raid. The taxation was exceedingly burdensome. The republic had lately been engaged in a little war with a native tribe, the Upefu, which cost perhaps f 200,000; that was made the pretext for the imposition of a war tax, which, if collected, would have amounted to f2,000,000. The tax on mining profits was 5 per cent; and there wa^ also a heavy poll tax. The people of Johannesburg were denied the right of public assemblage, and were compelled to ask the police for a permit to hold a meeting. The Boers, by such narrow policies, discouraged the hope of South African con- federation, alienated their fellow Afrikanders in Cape C!olony, and eventually brought on the war which cost both sides thousands of lives and millions of dollars. Early in April a petition signed by 21,000 British subjects was placed in the hands of the British agent at Pretoria, for transmission to Sir Alfred Milner, governor of Cape Colony, and British High Commis- sioner for South Africa, "For such action as His Excellency might think necessary.*' The claim of the Uitlanders was that, though they com- posed seventy-three per cent of the white population, and paid nearly all the taxes and possessed nearly all the wealth and intelligence, they vrere deprived of all substantial share in political rights and privileges by the remaining twenty-seven per cent. The eightieth anniversary of Queen Victoria's birthday wa» cele- brated May 24 with every token of loving affection on the part of her subjects, who welcomed the opportunity to emphasize their devotion to her as a loving, sympathetic, noble woman, as, on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee, they had eagerly expressed their reverent homage 360 LAST YEARS OP VICTORIA'S REIGN. and admiration for her as their Queen. The Queen marked the occasion characteristically by presiding in person at the laying of the comer- stone of the Victoria and Albert museum which completed the series of buildings begun by herself in the year of her coronation, 1837* The disputes between the subjects pf Great Britain and the South African Republic grew more bitter, and developed an increasing ten- dency towards a resort to force. Neither Queen Victoria nor President Kruger had a desire for war. Each professed the hope that the other would recognize the evident right in time to prevent the misery and crime of war. On October 9 the Boer Government sent to the British Government an ultimatum which revealed the aspiration of the Transvaal to claim Great Britain's place as the paramount power in Bouth Africa. In effect it was a declaration of war. Great Britain replied, on October 10, that the demands made were such as could not be discussed, and instructed the British agent to apply for his passport On the 11th the proclamation of war was issued at the Boer capital, and the Orange Free State openly took its place as ally of the South African Bepnblic, appointing Pietrus Jacobus Joubert commandant-general of its fbrces. This was an unwelcome, yet in one view an acceptable, incident to the British, since it relieved them from all obligations of neutrality regard- ing its territory, which might be used for approach to the Transvaal. On the same day the Boers occupied Laings Nek and Ingogo Heights, and the British troops in Cape Colony were hurried towards the west- ern border. On the next day, October 12, Free State forces invaded British territory in Cape Colony and entered Natal. The l^nsvaal government issued a manifesto calling on all Afrikanders (South Afri- can natives of European descent) throughout South Africa to rise against the British. The British force in South Africa at the middle of September was estimated at 11,000. The British force in Natal at the beginning of the war, October 11, is said to have numbered somewhat more than 13,000, of which about 5,000 had been brought from India within ten days. Hundreds of miles away, in Cape Colony, were about 5,000 more. Against this total of about 23,000 the total opposed ww esti- mated at about 60,000. The Boers had great advantages besides their superiority in num- bers; they had a very large proportion of mounted riflemen riding the LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGN. 361 » tough little poni^B of the country, which will travel forty miles a day and live on the grass that grows everywhere, while the British force was lamentably deficient in cavalry at the time of the outbreak of the ^ar. The Boers also had an equipment of artillery and rapid-fire guns of the latest and most improved patterns. At the beginning of the war, General Sir George White, formerly commander-in-chief in India, who had arrived at Durban, took com- mand. Two plans of campaign were considered by him. He might either attempt to check the Boer invasion of northern Natal by holding Dundee and Ladysmith; or he might abandon these, hold the defensible line of the Tugela river, and await attack in positions chosen for their strategical value. The latter was preferable on merely military prin- ciples, but was rejected on the representations of the chief officials of Natal, who questioned the loyalty of the people of northern Natal if it were abandoned to the Boers. This decision infiuenced the whole campaign. General White's stores were accumulated in large amount at Ladysmith, while General Sir William Penn Symons occupied Dun- dee and Glencoe Junction, fighting the first battle of the war, October 20, at Tulana Hill (or Glencoe), attacking about 4,000 of the Boer foi'ces under Lucas Meyer and capturing the position with a success brilliant but dearly bought. General Symons was mortally wounded, and the British losses numbered forty-three killed and nearly 200 wounded. The next day General French fought a fierce battle at Elandslaagte, attacking and defeating a large force under General Eock, second in command of the Boers, who was mortally wounded. The Boer loss was Aiore than 100 killed, 300 prisoners. This battle had its chief result in facilitating the British retreat from Dundee, which was soon found inevitable, as a considerable Boer force had taken up a strong position near the road to Ladysmith. That retreat was safely accomplished under General Yule, aided by the activity of White's army at Elandslaagte. White's and Yule^s forces effected a junction at Ladysmith, October 25. Before that town had been surrounded and isolated by the Boer General Joubert, a week later, naval guns from the cruiser Terrible, at Durban, had been landed and set up. The naval brigade rendered great service with these guns, which were able to cope with the heavy guns of the Boers, some of which send a 100-pound shell five or six miles. Until nearly the end of October the small British forces at Lady- 36^ LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGN. smithy at Kimberley, where fighting had begun October 14, and at Mafe- kingy whose siege had begun October 15, maintained their positions, and held in check the greatly superior bodies of the enemy. On October 24 a total of 988 Boer prisoners had been brought in. Then came serious reverses. At Dundee a squadron of Hussars in pursuit of some retreating Boers found themselves hopelessly entrapped and were taken prisoners. At Ladysmith, on October 30, a disaster of the same kind, but far more serious, befell the troops under General White. One of the active operations which broke the monotony of the inter- mittent bombardment of Ladysmith was a strong attack by the Boers on November 9. Early in the morning, under cover of artillery fire from all their positions, they started, creeping from cover to cover, to ascend the ridges overlooking the town. The garrison drove them back with musketry fire and the artillery wrought havoc on their retir- ing forces. The pritish met an annoying loss, November 16, in the ambuscade and destruction of an armored train, which in default of cavalry was reconnoitering near Estcourt. The Boers opened fire from concealed guns commanding the exact spot where they had secretly tampered with the track. The British responded, but were greatly outnumbered, and surrender was unavoidable. On November 23, General Hildyard attacked the Boers south of the Tugela river, and cleared that region. On the same day General Methuen struck the first important offensive blow of the British side of the campaign. At Belmont his force attacked the Beers, strongly intrenched, at a height of hundreds of feet, captured their position, and inflicted a heavy loss. Two days later, at Gras Pan (or Enslin), on the railway to Kimberley, the same army, in the first battle on non- British territory, defeated 3,000 Boers strongly intrenched, with ma- chine guns, on a range of heights. On November 28 General Methuen's third battle was fought with about 11,000 of General Anthony Cronje^s troops at Modder river, twenty-five milee from Kimberley — ^a ten hours* fight, without water or food, under a burning sun; described in the British commander's dis- patch as ''one of the hardest and most trying fights in the annals of the British army." Early in December the garrison at Ladysmith showed the never fail- LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGN. 363 ing bravery of British troopB by two brilliantly successful night sorties, capturing or destroying heavy guns of the besiegers. The week beginning December 10 was one of the blackest weeks in British military history for a generation. On that day, General Gat- acre, operating in the north of Gape Colony with a force of 7,000, met a "serious reverse in attack that morning on Stormberg," having, as his dispatch continued, been "misled to enemy's position by guides, and found impracticable ground." He marched out with 4,000 men from Molteno at 9:30 at night to surprise the Boers at Btormberg at dawn, but underestimated his distance, and at daybreak found himself with an exhausted force suddenly under fire from the enemy posted on "the top of an unscalable hill." One of his guns was overturned and lost in quicksands. His men tried bravely for three hours to make a fight, but were forced to retreat, leaving more than 500 cut off from the main body and made prisoners by the Boers. On December 12, General Methuen's failure in an attack on General Cronje's position at Magersfontein was a reverse more serious than any that had preceded. The Highland brigade, which led the attack, was compelled to retire upon encountering the heavy fire of the Boers, who were concealed in the trenches. Many officers and men were killed, including General Wanchope. The British made an orderly withdrawal to Modder river. The Highlanders lost nearly fifty officers and 650 men, and the. total British casualties in all regiments were about 1,000. When Sir Redvers BuUer assumed command of the forces operating on the Tugela river for the relief of Ladysmith, it was hoped that a suc- cessful campaign would be immediately inaugurated. At first there were reports of skirmishes in which the British were the victors, and these were soon followed by rumors that Ladysmith had been relieved. But it was soon learned that the most serious reverse of all had befallen the British arms. General Buller, having found the Boer position opposite Colenso impregnable, was repulsed in an attack at that point vith a loss of 1,100 men killed, wounded or prisoners. The attempt had been made to force a passage of the river at the same time that a part of the troops tried to keep off the flank attack of the enemy. Despite the great gallantry shown by the attacking force, the movement failed. The guns were abandoned, and one was ruined by shell fire. This loss made the renewal of the attack impossible. The general's dispatch 864 LAST YEARS OF , VICTORIA'S REIGN. reporting the battle concluded with the words, "We have retired to our camp at Chieveley." Little of importance transpired daring the month of January, 1900. General Bnller made a second attempt to relieve Ladysmith, where the Boers were making a series of unsuccessful attacks, but without suc- cess^ and the failure resulted in heavy losses to the British forces. February brought better news to British sympathiaiers. Kimberley and Ladysmith, both in sore straits, were relieved at the eleventh hour. The Boers had brought up one of their powerful Creusot cannon to bombard Kimberley. It threw 100-pound shells into the town, eom- pelling the women and children to take refuge in the diamond mines, 1,200 feet below the surface. General French rode hard to the relief of the beleaguered town, and his arrival was hailed with intense enthu- siasm. As soon as Oenaral Cronje saw that the siege of Kimberley had been raised, and that the British force was sufficient to envelop him at Magersfontein, he decided to evacuate his position. By a masterly march he succeeded in reaching Paardenburg, with all his wagons and men. There, with a force of 5,000, he made his last stand. He impro- vised a stronghold in the bed of the river, where for several days hia army was subjected to a tremendous bombardment by some sixty pieces of artillery, including the howitzers and naval guns. At last, on the eve of Majuba day, the Canadian contingent of the British forces entrenched themselves within 100 yards of the Boer's position. At day- break, finding himself without food, and practically without artillery, ' Cronje surrendered unconditionally after a defense which extorted the admiration of the world. Cronje^s surrender was the first decisive victory of the war. It waB rapidly followed by another success, in the shape of the raising of the siege of Ladysmith. The Boers, weakened by the withdrawal of many of their men, were no longer able to offer successful resistance to the British advance, and, finding themselves .between two forces, one of 30,000 and the other of 10,000 soldiers, they raised the siege and departed. When General Buller entered Ladysmith he found the garrison reduced to a half a pound of meal a day supplemented by rations of horse and mule flesh. All medical comforts, and even medical necessi- ties, had been used up. Of the 12,000 soldiers cooped up under the JBoer guns, 8,000 had been tjirough the hospital. The total number of LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGN. 365 caiiualtiefi during the siege were reported as follows: Killed or died of wounds, 24 officers and 285 men; of disease, 6 officers, 340 men; wounded, 70 officers and 620 men, exclusive of white civilians. 'After capturing General Cronje, Lord Roberts fought and won in an action with the Boers who were resisting his advance a short distance from Bloemfontein. He then entered the capital of the Orange Free State without opposition, where he was received by the English and the English sympathizers with every demonstration of enthusiasm. On April 2, five companies of British troops, numbering about 600 men, were surrounded by a detachment of Boers at Beddersburg, about forty miles south of Bloemfontein, and taken prisoners. Bloemfontein was occupied on March 13, but it was not until the beginning of May that Lord Roberts started his army for Johannesburg and Pretoria. By a series of rapid and well-executed marches, Johan- nesburg was reached on the last day of May, and the city was surren- dered by the Boers. President Kruger evacuated Pretoria and with- drew to the Lydenburg district. The relief of the beleaguered village of Maf eking supplied an episode which excited interest throughout the world. CJolonel— afterwards Major-Oeneral — ^Baden-Powell, with a force of 975 men, held the fron- tier village of Mafeking for seven months against all the forces which the Boers could send against him. The position of Mafeking itself was of no particular importance. If it had been abandoned when war broke out it cpuld have made no difference in the ultimate issue of the campaign; but, like the Balaklava Charge, its defense was magnificent. The endurance of the garrison and the genius of its commander struck the imagination of the world, and when on the very day fixed by Lord Roberts months before, the relieving column from Kimberley brushed aside the Boers and relieved the village, it was a signal for rejoicings in Qreat Britain on a scale without precedent since the Empire was illu- minated to celebrate the victory of Waterloo. On June 13 the complete evacuation of Natal by the Boers, with the advance of General Butler's force into the southeastern Transvaal, and the restoration of Lord Roberts' railway and telegraphic communi- cation through the Orange River Colony, were officially reported. On July 10 the War Office issued a casualty list, showing that the total casualties as a result of the war to July 7 were 48,188 officers and mesu 366 LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGN. On July 11 Colonel Mahon, reinforced by General French^B brigade, took with slight loss all the Boer positions in the vicinity of Bietfon- tein. On the same day, a sharp Boer attack at Ertlgersdorp, eighteen miles north of Johannesburg, was repulsed ; but at Nitral's Nek, twenty miles west of Pretoria, the Boers had a decided success against the British force, weakened by withdrawals to other points, capturing some guns, the larger part of a cavalry squadron, and one company of infajitry. The threatening conditions which prevailed in China at this time seemed to give the Boers hope of British disaster or weakness, and to have stirred them to renewed activity. President Kruger was reported as refusing all suggestions of surrender; and a Boer official in the United States reported "encouraging news from the two republics," whose forces were adequate "to hold Lord Roberts at bay for the next two years, or longer/' On July 23-26 Hunter's command was in heavy fight with Boers strongly intrenched in the hills south of Bethlehem. With Generals Clements, Bundle, and Macdonald, he captured three approaches, aild blocked the one remaining outlet of their natural stronghold. Prinsloo, on July 29, asked, under a flag of truce, a four days' armistice for peace negotiations, to which Hunter replied that he could accept no terms except unconditional surrender. Later dispatches brought to the War Office the news of Prinsloo's surrender, with 5,000 Boers, and by August 9 the additional captures amounted to 4,140 men, 4,000 horses, three guns, and great quantities of ammunition. On August 11 General Christian De Wet was reported in full flight before Kitchener's and Methuen's forces, while his road southward was barred by Smith-Dorrien's army. His escape from this besetment was not expected; but was reported on August 18, and was praised by military critics as showing De Wet to be a genius in cavalry leadership. On August 23 Lord Roberts was again at the front with three col- umns, pushing back Botha's army. Two regiments of General BuUer's men lost about 100 men on the first day in a trap set by the Boera The losses of BuUer's column in battle on the 27th were light, as were also those of French and Pole-Carew, while those of the Boers were heavy. On the 28th the British occupied Machadodorp, Kruger's latest capital, from which the Boers retreated precipitately. On August 80 Lord LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGN. . 367 Roberts reported that BuUer^s mounted troops had reached Nooit Oedachty where they had released 1,800 British prisoners. On September 1 was issued, under the Queen's warrant of June 4, a proclamation by Field-Marshal Roberts declaring the Transvaal annexed to the British Empire as the Vaal River Colony. The eflfect of this was to put in the position of rebels those who with arms resisted British authority. \ Early in September General Buller pushed on among the mountains of the northeast towards Lydenburg, where the Boers under Louis Botha had stored an immense amount of supplies in a position of great natural strength. On September 6 the place fell into British posses- sion without loss. Besides the losses noticed above, and the withdrawal of their com- mander-in-chief, Botha, by reason of sickness, the Boers lost, on Sep- tember 12, by departure ftom the country and by turning the presidency over to other hands, their President, who had been the inspiring and the guiding force of the whole movement for an independent South African nationality. Mr. Kruger, with other officials, retiring as the British advanced, made a short stay at Eomatipoort, on the Portu- guese frontier; then sought safety by crossing the border and making bis way about fifty miles eastward to Lourenco Marques, whence his course was open to Holland by sea. By the middle of November it had become evident that, though war technically no longer existed in South Afrtca, peace was still remote. Soldiers were returning to England; but men were constantly starting to fill their places, or to be organized into General Baden-Powell's police force, from which much was expected. The Boers, though having occa- sional small successes, were losing men and stores almost daily. Having no longer any large armies, they were not encumbered with transport trains; and their roving bands could be instantly and constantly on the move for either attack or escape. They fought fiercely and fled swiftly, and showed a courage which, being desperate, was spoken of in Europe as bom of despair, but would probably be better described as inspirited by hope that Europe would intervene in their behalf. Turning from war's alarms to happier affairs, and at the same time to matters which have a more direct connection with the personal life of the Queen, the visit of Her Majesty to Ireland, in April, 1900, was an event long to be remembered* It had been more than a half a 368 LAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGN. century since the Queen's yacht steamed into Cork harboFi when the country was just beginning to recover from the shock of famine, but when, even in those days of darkness and depression, the touch of royal kindness met with a prompt and warm response from the people. Re- turning after these fifty years of absence, the Queen was welcomed with all the sentiment of a nation that has been true even to unworthy rulers, a^d that, in spite of two generations of political agitation, still had a sense of reverence for the kingly office, strengthened all the more when it was associated with the dignity of age and the high example of a stainless family life. Her Majesty left Windsor the night of Monday, April 2, accompanied by Princess Christian and Princess Henry of Battenberg, traveling by special train to Holyhead, en route to Dublin. Holyhead was reached shortly after nine o'clock Tuesday morning. The Queen walked from the train to the deck of the royal yacht, which left Holyhead at an earlier hour than had been intended in consequence of apprehensions of rough weather in the channel, and entered Kingstown harbor at two o'clock P. M., escorted by two cruisers. Her Majesty was received with a royal salute of twenty-one guns by the Channel squadron. Every vessel in the harbor made a great display of bunting, and Kingstown itself was profusely decorated. The Lord Lieutenant and the Duke of Connaught arrived from Dub- lin in the course of the afternoon and went on board the royal yacht to welcome the Queen, who remained on board for the night. In the evening there were illuminations in the town and harbor, and bonfires were lighted on the surrounding hills. The Queen landed at Kingstown from the royal yacht at 11:30 Wednesday morning, being received with the utmost enthusiasm by a great crowd of spectators. A loyal address of welcome was received by Her Majesty from the urban district council of Kingstown, and in reply the Queen thanked them for their address and for their warm welcome. A procession was then formed, and the royal visitors proceeded, by a route which was profusely decorated and lined throughout by cheer- ing crowds, to Dublin. At the city boundary the Lord Mayor and municipality awaited the Queen's arrival, and an enormous assemblage of people had gathered about the spot. Admission to the city for Her Majesty having been formally demanded by Athlone Pursuivant of Arms, the Lord Mayor tendered a most hearty welcome, and, the gates rAST YEARS OF VICTORIA'S REIGM. 359 > haying been thrown open, the keys of the city and the civic sword were presented to Her Majesty and returned by her to the Lord Mayor. Aft^ the address of welcome and the Qneen's reply had been read, the, procession continued its way through Dublin amid continued demon- strations of welcome to the Viceregal Lodge in Phoenix Park. The Queen on Saturday, after a morning drive in the grounds of the Viceregal Lodge, proceeded in an open carriage, accompanied by Princess Christian and Princess Henry of Battenberg, to a part of Phoenix Park where there had assembled some 52,000 children from all parts of Ireland as well as from Dublin. They were marshaled in two great bodies on either side of the main road of the park from the gates of the Viceregal Lodge to the statue of Lord Oough, and behind them were gathered immense crowds of adult spectators. The royal carriage drove slowly down the line to a dais in the center, where stood the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress of Dublin and Lady Arnott, with their children, and the members of the executive committee who had charge of the arrSiPgements of the demonstration. There a magnificent bouquet was presented to the Queen on behalf of the children of Ireland by Lady Arnott's daughters and the young son of the Lord Mayor, and Tery cordially received and acknowledged by Her Majesty, whose car- riage then continued its course to the end of the line of children, and, ^ turning around the Gough statue, returned to the Viceregal Lodge. The Queen left Ireland Thursday, April 26, after a visit in Dublin of more than three weeks* duration. Accompanied by Princess Chris- tian and Princess Henry of Battenberg, Her Majesty drove through Phoenix Park and the outskirts of Dublin to Kingsbridge station, where she took a cordial farewell of the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress, assuring them that she was very sorry indeed to leave Ireland, wher^ she had had a very pleasant time. A special train conveyed the royal party to Kingstown, where they at once went on board the yacht Victoria and Albert, which left for Holyhead, escorted by the Channel squadron, at two o'clock. Throughout the whole route, and especially when driving through Phoenix Park and on embarking at Kingstown, the Queen was enthusiastically greeted by immense gatherings of people. The royal yacht arrived at Holyhead at half past six Thursday evening, and Her Majesty passed the night on board. The following day she proceeded to Windsor by the royal train, where she received S?b LAST YEARS OF ViCfOktA'S kBtChT. a cordial greeting from the people of the royal borou^, the streets of which had been elaborately decorated in honor of her home-coming. The closing yearB of Victoria's reign presented few noteworthy inci- dents except in relation to the Transvaal war. She was nndonbtedly strongly opposed to making war on the Sonth African Republic and the Orange Frw Btatc*. She felt that in the natnre of things she could Hot hope for many years more, and it was her earnest desire that she might end her reign and her days at a time of national peace. But when, against her will, the war was begun, she felt in duty bound to support it with the full weight of her influence and authority. When, after her return from the journey to Irdand, she learned the full extent of the British losses, and the impossibility of stopping them for months to come, she sank under the blow, and never rallied again. While she never questioned the justice of the attempts to subjugate the South African Republics^ the fact remains that the policy was one which did not meet with her approval. CHAPTER XVI. THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. News of the Qneen^s DlnesB Staiiles the CiTillzed World--The Royal Family CaUed to Osborne House— IrriTal of the Emperor of Germany—Death of the ({aeen— Enlogles of the Frass— Panegyrks of the Pablie— President HoKinley Cables Condolences to the KInf— Deep Grief in Canada— Speeches in Parliament— Loyalty Pledged the King^Lord Salisbury's Tribute. N Friday, January 18, 1901, the news that Queen Victoria was dangerously ill startled the civilized world. This information was given in an official announcement, which read as fol- lows: "The Queen has not lately been in her usual health and is unable for the present to take her customary drives. "The Queen during the last year has had a great strain upon her powers, which has rather told upon her nervous system. It has there- fore been thought advisable by Her Majesty's physicians that Her Majesty should be l^ept perfectly quiet in the house and should abstain for the present from transacting business." There had been rumors for several days that Her Majesty was slightly indisposed, but the intimation of serious illness produced an indescribable shock. In London the information reached the principal clubs before it began to blaze upon the bulletin boards of the half-penny papers. Great politicians forgot all their engagements in their feverish and panicky quest for authoritative information. The telephone bells in Osborne House, Buckingham Palace and Marlborough House jingled incessantly, and anxious voices inquired in vain: "Is the Queen really ill?" Tbe same answer came monotonously back: "We have no information." On the throngs in the streets the ominous news fell like a funeral knell. They studied the newspaper bulletins and sighed. They could be heard muttering: "Perhaps it is not true." The common people viewed the announcement of Victoria's illness 87!fe THE DEATH OF THE QU^EN. as they might haye yiewed the notice of an oyerv^helming disaster to the British arms. Meanwhile, in her palace at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, Her Majesty lay dying. As soon as the physicians realised that her condition was hopeless, the members of the royal family, both in England and on the Continent, were hastily summoned, and special trains and steamers car- ried them to the bedside of the dying monarch. The bulletins from Osborne House on Saturday were few, and far from encouraging. In the morning it was announced: ^^The Queen passed a good night and is mu^ch better this morning.'' ^ At noon the following, signed by Dr. A. Douglas Powell and Dr. James Reed, was issued: "The Queen is suffering from great physical prostration, accom-- panied by symptoms which cause anxiety.'' At b o'clock that eyening the same physicians issued the following: "The Queen's strength has been fairly maintained throughout the day and there are Indications of a slight improyement in the symptoms this eyening." A bulletin, issued at 2:10 Sunday morning, said: "The Queen's condition is unchanged. » * Si]^nday at Osborne, hedged around with intense secrecy, began with a touching scene. Amid the bright sunshine, in marked contrast to the gloomy sides of Saturday, there droye out from the palace grounds a carriage containing wreaths for the tomb of Prince Henry of Batten- berg in the little church at Whippingham, about ten minutes' ride from the royal residence., Then followed carriages containing the Princess of Wales, the Princess of Battenberg, Princess Louise and others, all dressed in the deepest black. The face of the Princess of Wales riiowed signs of the anxiety she was undergoing. The annual memorial seryice for Prince Henry, always a sad occa- sion, was more than usually sorrowful, for the shadow of a still greater bereayement was uppermost in all minds. The Princess of Wales and the Princess of Battenberg sobbe^ bitterly, and there was scarcely one of those royal heads bent in prayer that did not shake with a grief which could not be suppressed. The departure of the Prince of Wales for London, shortly after 12 o'clock, to meet Emperor William was quietly accomplished. The Queen had been informed of the Kaiser's coming and had signified her TENANTS AT OSBORNE PAYING THEIR LAST TRIBUTE TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD. ttU^ ARRIVAL OF THE GERMAN CROWN PRINCE AT PORTSMOUTH; HIS MEETING WITH THE KAISER The death of the queem.' srs desire that the Prince should go to meet him. Rather against his will^ the man who for the moment was practically the King of England obeyed his mother's wishes. It was rumored that the Queen wanted the Emperor to postpone his visit to Osborne House, as she did not wish to receive him in her present condition. Apparently in her lucid mo- ments, she believed that she would be able to conquer the dread disease which had fastened itself upon her. Inquiries of importance all came by telegraph and these were legion. Hundreds of people, all sorts and conditions of men, clergymen pre* dominating, flooded C5owes with telegrams asking for the latest news. A swarm of country people, among whom corresi>ondents from all quar* ters of the globe mingled, ceaselessly converged toward the lodg^ gates. Their inquiries generally took the form of a timid "How is she?'* addressed to the policeman who barred all comers; and an inquirer who had been answered would be immediately surrounded by others less bold who sought the news. When night fell the countryside became deserted, save for the news- pai>er watchers who waited wearily in the lodge. "Victoria is alive, but just alive.'* Such was the hope-dispelling message from Osborne House as the chimes in the moSs-hidden chapel belfry rang out another day of heart- rending national anxiety. The late bulletins promised that Her Majesty might win a good night's rest. They assured her royal kindred and her sorrowing people that her wealth of well-seasoned years were tell- ing in her favor. But between the lines of the doctors' words were signs in plenty that the sands of life were running out. Gowes took unwillingly to the idea that the good Queen's end was near. The village knew her always in the heyday of vigorous health, and it made a brave effort to persuade itself that she would yet be spared. But this confidence was that born of desperation and despair. All the evening the townspeople, old and young, trudged through the woods to the gates of Osborne, seizing on rumors of any sort with indiscriminate avidity. There was not a home on the whole Isle of Wight in which the Queen's illness was not a personal sorrow and blight to the household. To the royal family which was clustered near the Queen's bedside the day was wearing and trying. The women members of the house- hold had their fortitude strengthened during the forenoon by the arrival 876 ^ THE DEATH OP THE QUEEN. of Emperor William of Germany, the Duke and Duchess of Oonnaught and the Duke of York, as well as by the return of the Prince of Wales. The royal yacht bearing the Prince of Wales^ Emperor William, and their party entered Cowes harbor at 11:05 a. m., Monday. The figure of Emperor William was easily recognized standing by the pilot-house as the yacht approached the pier. He remained talking with the Duke of York till the pier was reached. Then the Prince of Wales came from the salon and joined the others. The whole party, including the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, landed within a moment after the Alberta docked. The royal carriages — open landaus — ^awaited them. Emperor William, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of Connaught quickly entered the first carriage and drove off toward Osborne House. Elmperor William acknowledged the silent salutes of the crowd, a score or so of the people raising their hats. He was dressed in a plain black suit and wore a derby hat. He appeared to be far less weary and anxious than his grim-visaged uncle who sat opposite to him. There was intense relief at Osborne House upon the arrival of the imperial and royal party, for several times during the course of the morning it was feared the Queen would not live to hear of the Prince of Wales* return. Shortly after noon the Kaiser entered the chamber of the Queen. Powerful restoratives had been administered to Her Majesty, and she was quite able to recognize him. The details of that interview, natu- rally, have been properly withheld. The interview lasted only a few minutes. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, induced jointly by the desire for open air and for relaxation in the brilliant sunshine, the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Kaiser, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and the Duke of York, started out for an hour's walk. The Prince of Wales strode along several feet in advance^of the party. Alone, with bowed head, he looked listless and almost on the verge of physical collapse, only giving a token of animation when passers-by attracted his atten- tion with reverential salutes. A few hundred yards from the Osborne gates the party met the six-year-old golden-haired Princess Elizabeth of Hesse walking with her nurse. The Prince leaned over and kissed the child. After returning from their walk none of the grief-stricken watchers left the palace again, but remained in call of the Queen's bedchamber or actually at her bedside until the next day, when she passed away in death. THE DEATH OP THE' QUBEH. 377 The fateful news that Victoria, R. I., by the grace of God Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, defender of the faith, and Empress of India, was no more came to a waiting world on Tues- day, January 22, in the following simple bulletin: "Her Majesty the Queen breathed her last at 6:30 o'clock, surrounded by her children and grandchildren/' It was when the cold, gray day dawned that the renewed decline of the vital powers warned the watchers that their struggle against nature could not much longer succeed. The Queen was then completely uncon- scious, and from moment to moment the exhaustion of the small remain- ing store of vitality became perceptibly greater. Shortly after 9 o'clock the doctors sent summonses to all the members of the family and also to the rector of the royal chapel. Before they arrived there took place that prudential phenomenon which nature sometimes grants to the dying. The Queen became con- scious and free of all suffering. It was under these circumstances of precious memory that the last interviews with her children and grand- children took place. The world will never know, and has no right to know what took place. The Queen received them singly, and by two and three within the next four hours. She recognized most of them. Then the curtain of unconsciousness fell for the last time, and the phy- sicians made known that the Queen was dying. All assembled and remained until the very end. It was so quiet and peaceful and gentle that it was difficult to realize that the shadow of death was present Nothing more can be said of those last moments. Even the dazzling light which beats upon a throne did not penetrate that chamber, and the tender memories of the la^ hours belong to those who mourn Vic- toria, not as a Queen, but in the dearer relationship of family. None of the royal family left the grounds of Osborne House on Fri- day, and the King had no other occupation than performing reverent of- fices for the dead. About 10 o'clock in the morning the shell was brought into the bedroom, where were waiting King Edward, Emperor William, the Duke of Connaught, Sir James Reid, and the royal ladies. The lat- ter having retired. Sir James Reid, with reverent hands, assisted by three trusted household .servants, and in the presence of the King, the Emperor, and the Duke, removed the body from the bed to the coffin. In death it was lovelier than in the closing days of life. Not a trace of the ravages of disease was visible. The servants having retired, 3^8 THE DEATH OF THE QVEEN. Queen Alexandra, the Princesses, and the children were recalled, and, with lingering steps and stifled sobs, they passed slowly before the white-robed and peaceful figure. At the foot, never moving, stood the King, and when the mourning crowd had passed there remained only the son and grandson of the dead. Emperor William wept even more bitterly than the royal ladies. Finally, he also retired, and the King was left alone. Sir James Beid, beckoning to the servants, who were holding the coffin lid, asked the King's instructions. Por a few minutes the King stood speechless, stricken with emotion at the last farewell. Then he said quickly, **Close it finally. It must not be opened again.'* Thus the remains of England's greatest ruler were forever closed from human view. Reverently the coffin was borne into the dining- room.. Officers and men from the royal yachts took their stands around the coffin, over which the King, Queen and Kaiser gently laid the robes of a Knight of the Garter, placing at the head a diamond crown. Be- neath lay the royal ensign, while hanging abote was the union jack. At the altar was the rector of Whippingham, who read a portion of the funeral service in the presence of the royal family. Emperor Wil- liam covered his face with his hands, and the grief of Princess Beatrice was pitiful. After the benediction each placed a wreath upon the coffin, and then all retired. The Emperor's tribute bore on its sashes the initial ''W." The offer- ing of the German Empress bore the initials "A. V.," standing for Au- gusta Victoria. A token was from the family of Dowager Lady Amp- thill, who was the dearest friend of the Queen after the death of Dowager Lady Churchill. The wreath was inscribed: "In reverent and prof oundest grief and with deep devotioA, from Her Majesty's sorrowing subject and servant, Emily Ampthill." The wreath that perhaps touched the family more than any was "a small token of loyalty and deep regret from Miss Norman, and the nursing sisters of the Royal Victoria Hospi- tal at Netley." The hospital is on the mainland opposite Osborne. "Good-by, dear Queen," were the words with which a morning paper closed an editorial. They serve as the keynote of the expressions of sorrow which the newspapers lavished in memory of the Queen whom all of them delighted to honor. Greater than the pride in the achieve- ments of her reign, which one paper described as "a dream of empire THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 879 I coming true," was th^ sense expressed in every comment of th^ irrepar- able loss which the nation and the individuals composing it sustained. The various eulogies were but a paraphrase of the same sentiment of loving admiration and regret. The Daily Mail said: "We can but regret that the Queen was not permitted to see the end of the South African struggle. She has been taken from us in a dark hour, which, we may hope, is a prelude to the dawn, and when we can ill spare her ripe experience and her vast knowledge of measures and men/* "Let us think of her this morning," said the Daily Chronicle, "by her highest title, not by her crown and sceptre, but by her own magnifi- cent and splendid ideal of womanhood. This it is which touches the heart's core of a proud and imperial race. We have lost mother, wife and Queen." Henry Labouchere wrote a remarkable tribute to Queen Victoria, a tribute all the more remarkable because of his democratic ideas and frank criticisms of royalty. "Among all her millions of subjects," he said, "there are but few who will not mourn for her loss as for one of their own household. Nor will the mourners be found among her own subjects alone. It is not too much to say that never in the history of the world has a single death caused such universal grief. Alike in happiness and sorrow, she lived a life beyond reproach, without thought of self and unreservedly devoted to the duties of the hour. Although occupying perhaps the proudest posi- tion ever filled by a woman, and never wanting in a certain Queenly dignity, her tastes, habits, demeanor, and even her dress, were marked by the rarest simplicity. "She has been, indeed, the mother of her people, and as a mother she will be mourned. In all the affairs of state she manifested the same wisdom that inspired her private life, nor did her own country alone enjoy the fruits of her experience and sagacity. Through her kindred and descendants abroad her influence for many years has been felt in continental politics, always on the side of peace; and, in at least one crisis, she is known to have rendered service to the whole of Europe. Her sudden and lamentable breakdown was due entirely to worry and overwork. She had been greatly distressed by events in South Africa and by domestic gdef s." 380 THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. The great interest in tlie illness of Queen Victoria manifested throughout the official circle in Washington and, in fact, in the capital generally, found expression in terms of sympathy and sorrow when the news came that Her Majesty was dead. A newspaper extra conveyed to the people of the capital the first tidings that the expected had hap- pened, and the shrill cries of the newsboys roused the town as it has seldom been roused by any great event since that hot day in July, 1881, when President Garfield was shot down by an assassin. The interest displayed in the sad news was remarkable. It had apparently not been decreased in the slightest degree through the knowledge of the past several days that the Queen was doomed. Very little work was done in any of the Government departments for the first half-hour succeeding the receipt of the announcement of Vic- toria's death. From the highest official to the most humble employe, all suspended public business during that period to discuss the effect on the world of the Queen's passing away. There could be no doubt from what was said By officials in govern- ment circles that Victoria was regarded as a firm friend of the United States. Soon after the announcement of Her Majesty's death had been received the officials concerned set about taking the usual steps to con- vey the sympathy of the United States to the new King, the British Government and the people over whom Victoria ruled. In accordance with directions from the White House the flags of all the Government buildings were placed at half-mast, where they were exhibited in the same way on the day of the funeral. Another unusual mark of the high appreciation of the worth of the deceased Queen was the action taken by the House of Representatives in adjourning as a mark of respect to her memory. The Senate adopted a resolution deploring the death of the Queen. The President and the Secretary of State did not wait before taking action with regard to the Queen's death to receive official notification of the sad event. They accepted as authentic the press dispatches con- taining the bulletin of Her Majesty's physicians announcing the news, and Secretary Hay, in behalf of the Government, immediately dis- patched a message to United States Ambassador Choate in London. The message follows: '^hoate, Ambassador, London : You will express to J>)rd Lftnsdowne THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 381 the profound sorrow of the Government and the people of the United States at the death of the Queen, and the deep sympathy we feel with the people of the British Empire in their great affliction. ^ "JOHN HAY/' A few minutes later this telegram from the President to the new King was sent from the White House: "His Majesty, the King, Osborne House, Isle of Wight: I have received with profound sorrow the lamentable tidings of the death of Her Majesty the Queen. Allow me, sir, to offer my sincere sympathy and that of the American people in your personal bereavement and in the loss Great Britain has suffered in the death of its venerable and illustrious sovereign, whose noble life and beneficent influence have promoted the peace and won the affection of the world. ^WILLIAM MCKINLEY/' Later in the day Lord Pauncefote, the British Ambassador, received a dispatch from the Marquis of Lansdowne, Minister for Foreign Affairs, saying that the Queen had passed away. The union jack was raised, half-mast high on the tall pole in front of the embassy and the window shades were drawn when the announcement of Her Majesty's deatH was received. A memorial service was held in an Episcopal church on the day of the funeral which was attended by th^ President, the Cabi- net, the diplomatic corps, and official Washington generally. To Lord and Lady Pauncefote the Queen's death came in the nature of a personal affliction, as they had both been the recipients of many personal kindnesses at the hands of Her Majesty. On their last visit to England they were the Queen's guests at Osborne, and there Lord Pauncefote, then Sir Julian Pauncefote, was elevated to the peerage. The official announcement of the Queen's death was not received by the Governor-General of Canada until 7:20 o'clock Tuesday night. The following cablegram was sent immediately by the Governor- General to Mr. Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the colonies: **The announcement of Her Majesty's death, which has just reached Canada, has created universal sorrow. My ministers desire that you will convey to His Majesty the King and to the members of the royal family an assurance that the people of Canada share in the great grief that has visited them. No greater sovereign has ever ruled over the 382 THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. British people or been more belpved and honored by her subjects than Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, and by none has this love and respect been more deeply felt than by the people of His Majesty^s Dominion of Canada.'' Following was the Qovemor-GeneraPs proclamation: "Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to call to his mercy our late Sovereign lady, Queen Victoria, of blessed and glorious memory, by whose decease the imperial crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and all other late possessions and dominions are solely and rightfully come to the, high and mighty Prince Albert Ed- ward, Prince of Wales, "I, the said Gilbert John Eliot, Earl of Minto, etc., Governor-General of Canada, assisted by His Majesty's privy council for Canada, hereby publish and proclaim that the high and mighty Prince Albert Edward is now, by the death of the late sovereign of happy memory, become our only lawful and rightful liege lord, Albert Edward by the grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India, defender of the faith, to whom let all therefore acknowledge faith and constant obedience with all hearty and zealous affection, beseech- ing God, by whom kings do reign, to bless the royal Edward VII. with long and happy years to reign over us. God save the King." Proclamation followed ordering a period of mourning for the Queen. All social entertainments at Bideau Hall, the residence of the Governor- General, were canceled, and the official correspondence of every depart- ment of government was ordered for the next three months to be written on mourning paper. In no part of the British dominions was Queen Victoria more sin- cerely mourned than in Canada; for the fact is recalled that almost her latest public appearance was on the occasion of her review of the Cana- dian troops upon their return from South Africa. It was the Queen who chose Ottawa as the seat of government for the Dominion, and the capi- tal made special observance of her death. His Worship Mayor Morris said: ^^Windsor Castle and Bideau Hall, in Ottawa, have been linked by ties of loyalty almost since confederation. Ottawans have had better opportunities of judging Her Majesty through her representa- tives than have other Canadian communities. Bhe has been reverently esteemed by the radical and loyalist alike in an irreverent THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 383 age. I think the judgment of history will concede her the foremost place among th^ monarchs and colossal figures of the nineteenth cen- tury. I, therefore, on behalf of Canada's capital dly, waft^the loyal devotion of the learned, the deep sympathy of the noble, the tears of the orphans, the benediction of the widow, the worship of the poor and the loYe of all to the memory of Victoria, our Queen." Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the first French Canadian premier of the Domin- ion, upon whom Her Majesty showered signal honors during her Jubilee, was deeply a£Fected by the announcement of Queen Victoria's death. His tribute to the Queen follows: "We, British subjects of all races and origins, in all parts of the world, were inspired by sentiments of exalted and chivalrous devotion to the person of Her Most Gracious Majesty. This devotion was not the result of any maudlin sentiment, but it sprang from the fact that the Queen, the sovereign of the many lands which constitute the British Empire, was one of the noblest women that ever lived — certainly the best sovereign that England ever had, and the best that probably ever lived in any land. **We know that the present war in South Africa was particularly painful to Her Majesty. She had hoped that the closing years of her long and prosperous reign would not be saddened by such a spectacle, but it was not in the decrees of Providence that this hope and wish should be gratified. *^We had hoped that when the end of this long and glorious reign came it would close upon a united Empire, wherein peace and good will should prevail among all men. Let us still hope that this happy con- summation may not be long delayed." Grief and joy were never so closely joined as in the official eulogies of the dead monarch and the congratulations to the new one. These were pronounced in both houses of Parliament by the respective leaders in response to the first message from the King to the people's represen- tatives. It was the greatest Parliamentary scene in recent times, and the orations pronounced by Lord Salisbury and Mr. Balfour, while un- pretending, were adequate appreciations of the great and good sov- ereign now dead. They were worthy of the occasion, which, as one of the speakers said, marked the close of an epoch in the world's history. It will not be counted to them as a lack of loyalty to the new sovereign 884 THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. if the burden of their words wa« sorrow for the lost more than of joy for the gainM. Great audiences, somber and silent in their mourning garments, hung almost breathlessly upon the words of the nation's leaders as they led them through conflicting emotions from grief to consolation, from hope to a new allegiance. The House of Commons met at 3 o'clock Thursday afternoon to receive the first message from King Edward VII. to the House. Many peers were in the places specially reserved for them, and well-known society women and peeresses were in the galleries. A. J. Balfour, First Lord of the Treasury and Government leader, brought up a message from the King, which the Speaker, William Court Gully, read as fol- lows: '^The King is fully assured that the House of Commons will share the deep sorrow which has befallen His Majesty and the nation by the death of His Majesty's mother, the late Queen. Her devotion to the welfare of her country, and her wise and beneficent rule during sixty- four years of glorious reign will ever be held in affectionate memory by her loyal and devoted subjects throughout the dominions of the British Empire." Mr. Balfour, after the reading of the message, rose amid impressive Kilence to move an address to the King. He said: "The history of this House is not a brief or uneventful one, but I think it never met under sadder circumstances than to-day, or had a duty laid upon it more clearly of expressing a universal sorrow, which extends not only from one end of the kingdom to the other, but from one end of the Empire to the other — ^a sorrow which fills every heart, and which every citizen of this great Empire feels, not merely as a national, but also as an irreparable personal loss. "I do not know how others may feel, but for my own part I can hardly yet realize the magnitude of the blow which has fallen on the country. It was a blow, indeed, which we had sorrowfully tc expect, but not on that account was it any the less heavy when it fell. "I suppose that in all the history of the British monarchy there has never been a case when the feeling of national grief has been so deep- seated as at present — ^so universal, so spontaneous — and that grief affects us not merely because of the loss which has befallen us, but because we feel, as it were, that the end of a great epoch has come — an . THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN, ^ 885 epochy the beginning of which stretches far beyond the memory of any individual I am now addressing, and which embraces within its compass sixty-three years. I venture to think that this epoch hks been more imi>ortant9 more crowded with great changes than almost any other period of the same length that could be selected in the history of the world. ''It is wonderful to think when so many changes now familiar to us and almost vulgarized by constant discussion and repetition, were yet unthought of or undeveloped; those great industrial inventions; those great economic changes; those great discoveries of science which are now in all men's mouths — before these, I say, were thought of or devel- oped, Queen Victoria ruled over this Empire. ''But it is not simply the length of her reign, not simply the magni- tude of the events with which her reign was filled, which has jM-oduced the deep, abiding emotion that stirs all hearts throughout the Empire. The reign of Queen Victoria is no mere chronological landmark. It is no mere convenient division of time useful for the historian or the chronicler. We feel as we do feel because we were intimately associated with the personality of Queen Victoria during the succession of the great events which filled her reign and during the development of the Empire wherever she has ruled, and in so associating her personality with these events surely we do well. The importance of the constitution, in my judgment, is not a dimin* ishing, but an increasing, factor. It is increasing and must increase with all the growth and development of those free, self-governing com- munities— ^those new commonwealths beyond the seas which are bound to us by the person of the sovereign, who is the leading symbol of the unity of the Empire. "But it is not given to a constitutional monarch to signalize his reign by any great isolated action. The effect of a constitutional sovereign, great as it is, is produced by the slow and constant cumulative result of a great ideal and a great example. As to that great ideal and ex- ample, surely Victoria is the first of all constitutional monarchs the world has yet seen. ''Where shall we find an ideal so lofty in itself, so constantly and consistently maintained through two generations — ^through more than two generations — of her subjects and through many generations of her public men and the members of this House? 386 THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. Ht would be impertinent in me were I to attempt to explain in words the effect which, the character of the late soyereign produced on all who werct in any degree brought in contact with her. The ample dignity befitting a monarch of this realm, in that she could hot fail^ because it arose from her inherent sense of the fitness of things. It was no trapping put on for office, and therefore it was that this queenly dignity only served to throw into higher relief those admirable virtues of the wife, mother and woman with which she was so richly endowed. ^'Those kindly graces, those admirable qualities, had endeared her to every class of the community. Less was known perhaps of the life of continuous labor which the position of Queen threw upon her. Short as was the interval between the last trembling signature she affixed to a public document and her final rest, it was yet long enough to clog and hamper the wheels of administration. ^'When I saw the vast mass of untouched documents which awaited the hand of the sovereign, it was brought vividly to my mind how admirable was the unostentatious patience with which, for sixty-three years, through sorrow and suffering, in moments of weariness, in mo- ments of despondency, it might be, she carried on without intermission her share in the government of this great Empire. For her there was no holiday and no intermission in her toil Domestic sorrow and domes- tic sickness made no difference in her labors, from the hour when she became the sovereign to within a few days of her death. "It is easy to chronicle the growth of the Empire, the progress of trade, and the triumph of war, all events of which make history inter- esting. But who is there that will weigh in the balance the effect which such an example produced on the highest life of the people? It was a great life and had a fortunate and, in my judgment, a happy ending. The Queen had her reward in the undying affection of all her subjects. This had not always been the fate of her ancestors. It had not been the fate of some of the greatest among them. "Such was not the destiny of Victoria. She passed away with her children and their children's children around her, beloved of all, cher- ished of all. She passed away, I believe, without a single enemy in the world, for even those who love not Ehigland love her. She passed away not only knowing that she was — I almost said — ^worshiped by all her subjects, but their feeling had grown in depth and intensity that she \ THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 387 was spared to us. No such reign, no such end had ever been known in oorhidtory. "The message of the King calls forth, according to immemorial usage, a double response. We condole with His Majesty in the inconsol- x able loss he and his country have sustained, and congratulate him on his accession to the sovereignty of this ancient kingdom. ^^ suppose there is no sadder heart in the kingdom than that of the sovereign, and it therefore savors of irony that we should offer con- gratulations, yet it is not so. Each generation must bear its own bur- den, and in the course of nature it is right that the burden of the monarchy should fall on the heir to the throne. ^t is for us on this occasion, so momentous in the history of the country, to express to the King our unfailing confidence that the great interests committed to his charge are safe in his keeping, to assure him of the unfailing support which his loyal subjects are ever prepared to give, to wish him honor and long life, and to wish above all that his reign may in the eyes of envious prosperity fitly compare and form an appropriate sequel to the great epoch which has just drawn to a close. **! now beg leave to read the following address, to which I ask the House to assent: "Resolved, That an humble address be presented to His Majesty that the House deeply sympathizes with the great sorrow which His Majesty has sustained in the death of our beloved sovereign, the late Queen, whose unfailing devotion to the duties of her high estate and to the welfare of the people will ever cause her to be remembered with reverence and affection. ** 'We submit to His Majesty our respectful congratulations on his accession to the throne and assure His Majesty of our loyal affection to his person, and further assure him of our earnest conviction that his reign will be distinguished, under the blessing of Providence, by his anxious desire to maintain the laws of the Kingdom and promote the happiness of his subjects.' '' Henry Campbell-Bannerman, formerly Secretary of State for War, seconded the address. He indorsed the remarks of Mr. Balfour, and added the following tribute to Queen Alexandra: "It is an additional satisfaction to us to know that His Majesty will have by his side an august Consort, who has endeared herself to the 388 THE DEATH OP WE QUEEM. hearts of the British people ever since she first set her foot on their soiL There will be no discordant voice in this House. If there were we should not fitly represent those who sent us here.** The Speaker then put the address, which was carried unanimously, and the House adjourned until February 14. The House of Lords met at 4 o^clock. There was an almost unpre- cedented attendance of peers, and all the available space in the galleries was filled. Every one was attired in the deepest mourning. The swear- ing in of the members was first proceeded with, a large number taking the oath. At 4:30 o'clock Lord Salisbury announced that he had received a message from the King, the terms of which he would communicate to the House. He handed the message to the Lord Chancellor, who read it. . The purport of the message was similar to that read in the House of Commons. Lord Salisbury then rose and said: ^^I have to move that an humble address be presented to His Majesty, to assure His Majesty that this House deeply sympathizes with him in the great sorrow His Majesty has sustained by the death of our beloved sovereign, the late Queen, whose unremitting devotion to the duties of her high estate and the welfare of her people will ever cause her reign to be remembered with reverence and affection, and to submit to His Majesty our respectful congratulations upon his accession to the throne, and to assure His Majesty of our loyal attachment to his person. We further assure him of our earnest conviction that his reign will be dis- tinguished under the blessing of Providence by an anxious desire to maintain the laws of the Kingdom and promote the happiness and liberties of his subjects. ^^My Lords, in making this motion I have to perform by far the sad- dest duty that has ever befallen me, and you in voting it will be ani- mated by similar feelings. We are echoing the accents of sorrow which reach us from every part of the Empire and from every part of the globe, which express the deepest and most heartfelt feelings, feelings deeper than I have ever seen, of sorrow for the singular loss, which, under the disi>ensation of Divine Providence, we have suflFered, and of admiration for the glorious reign and splendid character of the sov- ereign taken from us. "My Lords, the late Qneon had so many titles to admiration that it THE DEATH OF TH£ QUEBN. 389 Would occupy enormous time to glance at them even perfunctorily. One that I think will be attached to her character in history is that, being a constitutional Queen with restricted powers, she reigned by sheer force of character, by the lovableness of her disposition, over the hearts of her subjects, and exercised influepce in molding their character and their destinies which she could not have done more had she had the most despotic of powers. She has been the greatest instance of govern- ment by example and by love, and it will never be forgotten how much she has done for the elevation of her people, not by the exercise of any prerogative, not by giving any command, but by the simple sight and contemplation of the brilliant qualities she exhibited in her exalted position. "My Lords, we who have had opportunity of seeing the close work^ ing of her character in the discharge of our duty to her, take this oppor- tunity of testifying to the great admiration which she inspired and the great force which her distinguished character exercised over all who came near her. The position of a constitutional sovereign is not an easy one. Duties have to be reconciled which sometimes seem far apart. That may have to be accepted which may not always be pleasing to accept, but she showed wonderful power of observing with the most absolute strictness the limits imposed by the constitution, and, on the other hand, of maintaining a steady and persistent influence on the action of her ministers and the course of legislation, an influence which none could mistake. "She was able to accept some things which, perhaps, she did not entirely approve, but which she thought it her duty in her position to accept She always maintained and practiced a rigorous supervision over public affairs, giving her Ministers the privilege of her advice, and warning them of dangers, if she saw dangers ahead. "She certainly impressed many of us with a profound sense of her penetration, almost intuition, with which she saw the perils with which we were threatened and the course it was expedient to pursue. She left on my mind that it was always dangerous to take any step of any great importance of the wisdom of which she was not thoroughly con- vinced. Without going into details I may say with confidence that no Minister during her long reign ever disregarded her advice or pressed her to disregard it without always feeling that he had incurred a dan- gerous responsibility, and frequently running into the danger. 390 THB DEATH OF THE QUEEN. She had' an extraordinary knowledge of what her people would think; so much so that I have said for years that I always thought when I knew what the Queen thought I knew pretty certainly what her subjects would thinki especially the middle classes. She had extraordinary penetration/ yet she never adhered to her own (Conception obstinately. On the contrary, she was full of concession and consideration. She spared no efforti I might almost say she shrank firom no sacrifice, to make the task of conducting this difficult government easier to her advisers than might otherwise have been. "My Lords: I feel sure my testimony will be abundantly sustained by all who were called to counsel with her. We owe her a debt of gratitude for her influence in elevating the people, and gratitude for her power over foreign courts and sovereigns in removing difficulties and misrepresentations which sometimes prevailed, but, above all, I think we owe her gratitude for this. By a happy dispensation her reign coincides with the great change which has come over the political stmc> ture and institutions of this country. She bridged over the great inter- val separating old England and new England. Other nations have had to pass through the same ordeal, but they seldom passed it so peace- fully, easily, and with so much prosperity. I think that future histo- rians will look upon her reign as the boundary separating the two con- stitutions of England, which has changed so much. We have done it with a constant increase of public prosperity, without friction and with- out endangering peace or the stability of civil life, with, at the same time, a constant expansion of the Empire, which grows more and more. We owe all these blessings to the tact, wisdom, passionate patriotism and incomparable judgment of our late sovereign.'' The most conspicuous feature of the numerous tributes to the mem- ory of Queen Victoria was the almost universal exaltation of her per- sonal virtues above her influence as Queen. President McKinl^ in his message of condolence spoke of her "noble life which has won the affection of the world.'' Sir Thomas Lipton said: "She exalted the womanhood of the world." Labouchere, who rarely agreed with her policy as Queen, said she was '*the mother of her people." Ex-President Harrison said, *Ttf ore hearts pulsated with love for her and more knees bowed before her queenly personality than before the Queen of Great Britain." Bishop Potter said, 'Teople who had never been to England and never expect to go felt the same personal devotion to her.'' Pro- •a c C9 4> E C o H tn o u o :5 w w ID o u < W H O ^ < EC « -oS O • 5 5* '^H £ e «^ pile's < o < w PQ .< H (2) PQ < w a: H (Xh o (2] o < o > o •a THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. . 393 fesMF Patton said, ''A queenly woman she was; what is better, a wom- anly Queen/' Qirdinal Gibbons paid a warm tribute to her domestic Tirtues, and the London Times gave expression to English feeling in the following words: "We have to thank the Queen for influence of the most potent kind, consistently and vigorously used to enforce pro- gressive ideals of social and personal virtues, of religious faith, and of Cairistian life.'* Expressions similar in tenor to these characterized the tributes of men and women in all parts of the world. Thes^ tributes sho^ that the world esteems lofty womanhood more than regal power, and personal virtue more than political influence. And no Queen in modem or in ancient days better deserved such a tribute. In her influence upon man- ners and morals she held world-wide sway over the hearts of men and women. Her purity and integrity of character commended her to her subjects, and they acknowledged the force of these traits and manifested their appreciation by such an outpouring of sympathy as no other English sovereign ever received. In devotion to her domestic duties, in the bringing up of her family, in the enforcement of morality without prudery, in devotion to religion without bigotry, in personal courtesy to every one, in simplicity of tastes, habits and dress, in all gentle dig- nity and sweet graciousness, the influence of her character was greater than the influence of her position. She set an example to all women of exalted, useful. Christian womanhood which is a grander record than that of queenly power or royal stata 'Tis only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets. The mourners at Osborne House gathered at noon on Sunday in the little flint and plaster church at Whippingham, where a week before the Queen's daughters attended a service in memory of Prince Henry of Battenberg. The same closed carriages that are used constantly between the pier and Osborne House galloped down the damp road in a boisterous wind and past the little single-storied red brick royal alms- houses. The coachmen wore long bufT coats with crepe armlets. King Ekiward, Queen Alexandra and Emperor William descended from the first carriage. The Queen and all her ladies wore heavy crepe veils. The others of the party were attired in civilian mourning. A large number of Victoria's relatives were at Osborne, and the party 394 THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. filled the royal pews^ which are on a dimly lit side aisle^ and separated and invisible from the little space reseryed for the congregation, which was not large. The aged Dnke of Cambridge made his appearance pub- licly among the mourners. The front public pew was occupied by Earl Roberts, William St. John Broderick, and Viscountess Oort They were staying at Viscoi^nt Gort^s East Oowes castle, near Osborne House. The royal children were placed in the Battenberg chapel, where the, white marble tomb of Prince Henry still bore the flowers placed on it a week before. The entire assemblage were in plain black mourning except the children, who were in white. The Bishop of Winchester preached a simple, touching sermon on the late Queen's worth and example. He spoke of the presence of the ^'great ruler of the German people, who is simply taking his place quietly as the grandson of Queen Victoria, thereby cementing by the force of sentiment, which is keener and farther reaching than any force on earth, the undying friendship of the two great kindred branches of our race. To him on this day, his birthday, all England, even in her sorrow, is paying a tribute of glad, because ungrudging, homage." Sir Walter Parratt, private organist to the late Queen, played a spe- cial organ prelude by Chaminade, two movements from Mendelssohn's sonatas, one of Schumann's airs, and a Hebrew melody, which was a lament for the departed. He played Beethoven's Funeral March after the service. When the church was emptied, the German Emperor and the Grown Prince drove direct to the pier and crossed the Alberta's deck and entered a small steam launch flying the flag of the German black eagle. They bowled swiftly across the rough waters to the Hohenzollem to receive birthday salutations, it being the forty-second anniversary of the birth of the Kaiser, and to prepare for the subsequent visit of English royalties and Earl Roberts. The Kaiser's presence was made the occasion of personally confer^ ring upon him two of the highest honors that the English sovereign has to bestow/ King Edward, in congratulating the German Emperor, appointed him a Field Marshal of the British army, and also presented to him with his own hands the insignia of the Order of the Garter, set with diamonds. Had the Queen lived, she intended to present the in- signia to His Majesty on his birthday. Emperor William expressed his pride in the honor of receiving both distinctions. THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 3M At 3 p'clock King Edward, wearing the blue uniform and beaver cocked hat of a British Admiral, and Earl Roberts, with a scarlet coat under the blue cloak of a British Field Marshal, the Duke of Connaught in the uniform of a British General, the younger Princes and officers in uniform, proceeded over the same route as the Kaiser to pay him respects and congratulations on the deck of the Hohenzollern. The entire party returned soon after fourt)'clock, the Kaiser wearing a Brit- ish Admiral's uniform and the Crown Prince a gray cloak over the uni- form of a subaltern of the Prussian Guards. The English party returned first and proceeded on foot from the rear entrance of Osborne House to prepare for the reception of the Kaiser, the carriages returning to the pier to bring him and his party. His Majesty carried a loose bouquet of white lilies. He was received by the entire household in full state uniforms. . As the afternoon wore on, the wind increased to a gale, and the sea tossed the imperial launches like corks. The Kaiser and the others in their unifornis were visible through the glass sides of the little deck boxes. It was high tide when they landed, and great splashes of spray were thrown on the carriage wheels as they passed along the little street from the pier side to York avenue, leading to Osborne House. At noon the Australia fired twenty-one guns in honor of the Kaiser. The only outward tribute that Englishmen could pay to the memory of Victoria, they paid on Sunday, January 27. For the first time, per- haps, in the history of the nation, the churches of England were unable to hold the congregations which sought admittance, nor ever before were seen assemblages like unto these vast multitudes in black. The worshipers who stood silent in the streets during the entire service at St. Paul's far outnumbered those who thronged the great cathedral. It was not an official memorial service there or in any other church, but there was only one theme in the words of every preacher in England and in the heart of every worshiper. The Archbishop of Canterbury occupied the pulpit at St. PauPs. He followed custom in taking his text-— namely. Revelations xiv:3 — ^but his discourse was an earnest panegyric of the dead Queen rather than a sermon. He said that the labors from which she was resting and the fruit which remained for the blessing of the country testified that she had lived a life of toil if ever man or woman did. It had been said that a constitutional monarchy was an impossibility, the sovereign 896 * THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. either being reduced to doing nothing or to interfere with the liberty of the people. The Queen had solved the problem and shown what consti- tutional monarchs must be. She had realized that her people were a free people and must be governed by those they themselves had chosen. Therefore, although she was ever ready in an emergency to fearlessly advise and to try to convince her ministers, not shrinking from stating the plain truth, she had, when she found she was unable to convince, yielded in the belief that it was better the people should be ruled by those they had elected, even if they proved wrong, because it would be more consistent with freedom, which she recognized as the source of all real progress. She left all statesmen a wonderful lesson of the value of a sovereign with such a position, and taught her ministers a lesson which it would be good, indeed, if all ministers of the Crown should follow, that the very foundation of a government of a free people was to be found in loving and caring for them. The Archbishop dwelt upon the manner in which the Queen had won the hearts of the people by her sympathy, and the strange instinct by which she almost invariably knew what the great body of the people felt. It was her loving sympathy, care, and watchfulness that gave her that remarkable power. Even beyond this was her high standard of conscience, which, through the influence of her presence, penetrated the court, which thereby became such a blessing to the people as few courts ever had been. Her death was an incomparable loss, but her works stand and mark out for every ruler the conditions in which a ruler may really be a blessing to the ruled. The reredos in Westminster Abbey and the King's stall were draped with purple. Dean Bradley took his text from Acts xiii:36: "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers," and from Matthew xxv:21: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things; entei: thou into the joy of thy Lord." The venerable octogenarian preacher, with his long, white hair beneath a skull cap, spoke reminiscently of the Queen's coronation in the Abbey, which he had witnessed. He pictured Her Majesty's life, em- phasizing especially what she had done to raise the social and mora] tone. He closed by pathetically exclaiming: THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN^ ■ 397 "And we are here to saj that she has gone. Yet we are so near the day of death that we can scarcely realize our loss. May her memory and example do their work in the lives and reigns of her successors." A multitude of reports from every part of London and the country record similar tributes by every denomination. All of the English and Scotch societies in Chicago participated in the union memorial service of the First Methodist and Central churches for Queen Victoria in the auditorium of the former church on Sunday afternoon. An audience which entirely filled the church listened to the eulogies by the Rev. Frank Ounsaulus, of the Central church, the Rev. John P. Brushingham, of the First Methodist church, and the Rev. James MacLagan, of the Scotch Westminster church. \ The service was opened by Dr. Gunsaulus, who said that Queen Vic- t^ X o o H O < O p:5 < Jz; w H O > u Jz; w o THE MEMORIAL SERVICE IN ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR, THE DEAN OF WINDSOR PREACHING THE SERMON. THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 411 mouth end, while gunboats and steamers with official spectators formed the remainder of the southern line. The British ships were an imposing sight with their uniform decor- ations, coal black hulls, with a line of red just above the water, with upperworks and yellow smoke stacks. All displayed the Jack at the foremast and the White EJnsign at half mast at their stems. The foreign ships attracted most of the attention of the English spectators. Oiant of the whole fleet was the Japanese battleship Hatsus, the largest war machine afloat, a fortress of clay-colored steel, with the scarlet sun on a white field hanging at the stem, the fighting emblem of the youngest world power. Emperor William's navy was represented by Nymphe, Victoria Louise, Hagen and Baden, all blue-gray colored upperworks. The Hagen was flying Prince Henry of Prussia's flag — ^yellow arms on a white field. The Dupuy de Lome, under France's tricolor, was a fine sight. It is built with a prow-fronted long ram, high out of the water. Portugal was represented by the cruiser Don Carlos. The ill fortune of Spain's navy asserted itself at the last moment, for word came that Emperador Carlos V. had turned back from its trip to the port with crippled engines. The pathway between the warships was a quarter of a mile wide avenue of clear water. Behind the lines of warships hovered a few yachts and channel steamers. Black torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers were skimming about and officers in gigs and launches swarmed everywhere. Bugle calls came over the waters and gaudy signal flags burst out and disappeared. The British ships were also lighted with gleams of the* scarlet coats of the marines. ^^Queen's weather" came at noon in a burst of sunshine and the clouds cleared away from the channel, lingered above the tree tops along the crest of hills on either side, and the police boat ushered the merchant shipping and crowded excursion craft back to their anchor* ages under the shelter of the shore. Through the whole length of the channel there were only a long double file of warships with black messenger boats dashing among them. For nearly three hours the fleet watched for the coming of the funeral. The officers on the bridges, in gorgeous uniforms, with all the decorations and medals, scanned the Cowes shore docks through their glasses. An occasional brilliant burst of sunshine showed tens of 412 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. thousands of spectators, subjects of the dead Queen, assembled to witness her last passage from Cowes to Portsmouth. When the Alberta entered the harbor at 4:40 p. m., with the minutQ guns in the forts sounding, the b^lls of all the churches of the city tolling, the ancient frigate Victory, moored there, fired a salute of muzzle-loaders. The marines on deck stood at arms. The Admiral's band played a dirge. ThecoflSn containing the Queen's body, covered with a white silken pall, on top of which were three crowns and the crystal orb and jeweled scepter, was transferred from the royal yacht to the funeral train at nine o'clock on Saturday morning. A crowd of privileged persons stood bareheaded on the bleak platform, and many were not able to restrain their emotion as the coffin was lifted into the Queen's special saloon carriage, decorated with purple emblems of mourning, and reverently placed on a raised platform in the center of the car. Four guards were stationed at the four comers of the coffin, with arms reversed, the gun barrel resting on the right foot and their heads inclined on the stocks. King Edward, Emperor William, and other members of the royal family then took their places in the carriages reserved for them, and the train drew out of the station. Some forty years before, the woman at whose bier the world was now paying homage wrote down her wishes, saying with what manner of form and ceremony she should be carried to her last resting place. Death had just robbed her of what she held most dear, and from that hour she gave more thought than is wont of humanity to that journey which was now being accomplished. Her instructions then indited, and more than once revised, were faithfully obeyed. Simplicity and dignity marked her funeral rites, as they marked the life and character of Victoria. Pomp would have been a mockery, and there was none. A vast pageantry would have belittled her in attempting to symbolize her power; her body was borne through the streets of her capital upon a common gun carriage. Never did a funeral procession of a great sovereign, so few in num- bers, represent so much; never did so small a cavalcade contain so many princes and potentates. The transit of Victoria's ashes from deathbed to tomb through the streets of London was a thing apart, a spectacle that seemed not quite of earth. It was easier to believe it a wonderful dreamland allegory which typified the majesty of death THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 413 and the submission of emperors and kings to the last great leveler. The funeral train was slightly delayed in reaching Victoria station, but this did not hinder the punctual execution of the London pro- gramme. The train guards reported that it seemed as though the train ran through an endless line of black-clad, bare-headed people, for the whole eighty miles of its journey. The train drew up at the Victoria platform opposite a large purple pavilion, in which were waiting the kings of Greece, Portugal, and Belgium, and the representatives of other foreign sovereigns. King Edward was the first to alight. He stepped forward imme- diately to greet his royal guests. He was clad in the uniform of a Field Marshal, over which was thrown a black cloak. His majesty looked extremely worn and weary, and it was evident that the great strain of the past fortnight had taxed his powers most severely. Emperor William, who quickly joined the King, was similarly clothed. His military figure and almost pallid face gave him, perhaps, a more impressive bearing than that of the King. The two monarchs remained for a few moments within the pavilion, forming, with their guests, perhaps the most remarkable group of crowned heads ever assembled in one spot. The other members of the royal party left the train meanwhile, and the humble vehicle which was to carry Victoria's body through the capital drew up beside the Queen's saloon carriage, where the bier was still under the guardian- ' ship of four of her soldiers. A detail consisting of an officer and twelve men of the guards arid the household cavalry presently performed their last duty to her by lifting the coffin from the car and placing it gently upon the gun carriage, the royal party and guests standing silent and uncovered during its brief transit. Within ten minutes after entering the station all was ready, and at 11:20 o'clock the signal was given for the last march to begin. Mean- time the black masses of London's population had grown denser at every point along the route. Thousands upon thousands of people were content to stand mute in places where, by no possibility, could they get a view of any part of the parade. They stood for hours, without strug- gling to gain vantage ground, seemingly satisfied to bear testimony simply by their presence to their love and loyalty to their Queen. Just as the line started on its way to Paddington there was a fitful gleam of wintry sunshine which rested for a few moments on the crown, 414 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. scepter, and other insignia lying upon the simple funeral chariot; then it disappeared, and Victoria crossed her capital for the last time, under cold gray skies. It would be a mistake to describe this wonderful funeral cortege as a great pageant. It was what it typified, as in the jubilee procession of three years ago, not its actual display of power that made it marvelous above all other tributes to dead monarchs which the world has seen. It is in that sense that the spectacle which London then witnessed should be described. One saw, then, first, a single officer of the headquarters' staff, followed by three bands firom the household cavalry. It seemed strange not to hear the familiar strains of the "dead march" on such an occa- sion, but it was by the Queen's own wish that the sweeter measures of Beethoven and Chopin stilled the ears of her mourning subjects. Volunteers headed the line. They were represented by the Second Middlesex rifles, the First Middlesex engineers, and the Tynemouth artillery. Very young and boyish they looked in the neat service uniforms. The Warwickshire Yeomanry followed, and their presence, like that of the volunteers, was significant of the important place these last reserves of the British forces held in public estimation by reason of the war in South Africa. Most significant of all the imperial forces represented in the cortege was the section which came next. It was a small detachment from the colonial corps as made up from such representatives as happened to be in London. Many Englishmen took off their hats when these men went by, as they did afterward to the royal coffin and to the King. They would have cheered had the occasion been less sad. Four bodies of the militia came next. They were the home bat- talions of the Gordon Highlanders, the Welsh Fusileers, the Royal Irish regiment, and the Norfolk regiment — ^representing four kingdoms. They also were very young men, but were apparently well-drilled soldiers. Detachments or. individual representatives of the honorable artillery company, the army veteran department, the army pay corps, the ordnance corps, the chaplains' department, the medical corps, and the army service corps were next in line. Representatives of the most numerous class of Her Majesty's sub- jects followed. They were the men who hailed her as Empress instead of Queen, and whose dark faces to-day seemed filled with grief and THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 415 despair of a deeper intensity perhaps than all the others. There were not many representatives of the Indian army^ but none was watched with keener interest. The regular army came next. Snch corps as were not fighting in South Africa were the most representative selection, including, of course, the flower of the army and such bodies as always are reserved for the home defense and as guardians of the person of the sovereign. The most striking sight in the whole escort was that of a company of Grenadiers, which had been selected to accompany the Duke of York on his proposed Australian visit. This wonderful body of men of an average height of six feet ten inches, probably surpassed all military records. Several members were between seven feet three inches and seven feet four inches. No more imposing sight can be imagined than that of these giants in their fine uniforms and splendid accoutremtots. The infantry of the line represented comprised the fourth battalion of the rifle brigade, the Royal Irish Pusileers, the Highland Light infantry, the King's Royal Rifle corps, the Royal Pusileers, and the Lancaster regiment. The Foot Guards formed the next division, and included the Irish, Scots, and Coldstream Grenadiers and a corps of the Royal Engineers, all marching in close order. The artillery was represented by three batteries, the Royal Garrison, the Royal Field, and the Royal Horse. Then came the cavalry, the Twenty-first Lancers with their bright lances leading. The dark-coated Hussars and the helmeted Dragoons of the household cavalry, which are attached to the Sovereign on all great occasions, came last. Of the regular army the bright red coats and plumed helmets of the Royal Horse Guards led, and two battalions of the Life Guards followed. The navy then received an honored place in the line, and there was nothing more impressive than the sight of a battalion of blue jackets of the Marine Light Infantry, marching under straw hats and with reversed arms. A few guns and the khaki-colored marine artillery completed the escort. The figure of Earl Roberts, mounted on a dark horse and carrying a Field Marshal's baton, next came into view, and at some places the crowds scarce forbore to cheer. He was surrounded by foreign military attaches and the members of his staff. Four military bands preceded the personal escort of the coffin. One 416' THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. or the other of them played the same funeral music as those at the head of the line, throughout the entire march. Now came the moment when the troops lining the route of march presented arms and sorrowing multitudes uncovered heads. The Duke of Norfolk, the £arl Marshal, with a bewildering array of mepibere of his staff and officials of the royal household, passed, but none saw them. Every one looked beyond to that lowly bier, resting on the grim khaki- colored gun-carriage. It seemed very small, that plain receptacle of so precious a burden. No flower, no wreath, no ornament save the simple insignia of her rank, distinguished the burial car which carried the body of the dead Queen through her capital. The white satin pall, rich no doubt in texture, might have been a simple sheet so far as the ordinary onlooker could see. The royal standard seemed to have been half furled and flung carelessly across it. The crown and scepter and Knight of the Garter insignia served only to intensify the simplicity and pathos of the unpretentious funeral carriage. Dragging, if it may be so expressed, the nation's sorrow, were eight cream-colored horses, which London had not seen since the time three years ago when they drew the Queen through such a storm of acclama- tions as perhaps never greeted monarch before. They were capari- soned in deep crimson trappings. Even in their manes and tails were interwoven ribbons of what seems to have been adopted as the color of royal mourning. It is a peculiar tint, being neither red faor purple, but a blend of crimson and maroon. The postilions were simi- larly attired. On either side of the gun carriage walked the bearer party of non-commissioned officers of the guards and the household cavalry, and immediately behind them came the royal standard, borne by another officer of the household cavalry. Then came the King, riding, with his eyes fixed gloomily upon the white coffin in front of him. He was mounted on a dark bay, and his uniform, except his cocked hat, was entirely hidden by a long black cloak which covered also his horse^s haunches. His appearance of weariness, almost distress, seemed intensified by his dress. He was flanked about a pace to the rear by Emperor William and the Duke of Gonnaught. The Emperor was mounted on his famous white charger and carried a Field MarshaPs baton in full view. His face seemed to grow whiter still after leaving Victoria station, but he was keenly alive to all about him. THE IM^PRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 417 King Edward seemed scarcely to drive, letting his horse choose his own place and pace as the line sometimes stopped and then moved on again. The Emperor, however, and the Duke of Connaught also, care- fully kept their horses' heads about at the shoulder of that of the King. Next came the others of this cavalcade of kings. He of Greece and he of Portugal rode almost side by side. There were princes and royal dukes— Henry of Prussia, Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, Prince Arthur of Connaught, the Crown Prince of Germany, the Crown Prince of Roumania, the Duke of Hesse, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Duke of Sparta, the Crown Prince of Denmark, the Crown Prince of Norway and Sweden, the Crown Prince of Siam, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the Grand Duke Michael of Russia, and others of the world's potentates, really too numerous to mention and too con- tusing in such a kaleidoscope of gold and many colors to identify. At the end of this bewildering throng rode a deputation of officers trcm the German army and the personal suite of the Kaiser, only less impressive, as splendid specimens of military manhood, than that com- pany of Grenadieirs among the British escort mentioned above. Last of all were the six state carriages, magnificently caparisoned. The first was drawn by four horses and was a closed chariot, containing the Queen and the Princesses Louise, Victoria and Maud (the latter the Princess Charles of Denmark). The windows were closed and the occu- pants were clad in the deepest mourning and were but dimly seeti. In the following carriages were the King of Belgium, other Princesses, the Duke of Cambridge, Lord Wolseley and ladies of the Queen's household. Two files of troops formed the closing escort. The entire line had passed Buckingham Palace at 12:30 o'clock, and the progress through the city was maintained almost exactly according to schedule. Everywhere the mourning multitude greeted the caval- cade with a silence more impressive than would have been any demon- stration of emotion. At one or two points only was a voice raised to greet the King and it was instantly silenced by murmurs of "hush*' from the crowd. The spectators dispersed in the same strange silence, in wonderful contrast to the scenes attending the last public gathering in London a few weeks before. At Paddington station everything was in readiness for the reception of the cortege by noon. Without, packed close to the crimson-painted wall8> stood a huge expectant throng. Within, there was a solemn hush. 418 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. doubly impressive in that it prevailed where the busy noisy confusion of a great railway station usually reigns. After the departure of the last ordinary train at 10 o'clock no one was admitted to any part of the station save the privileged guests, and they were ranged on either side of the entrance from the street. At the bottom of departure platform No. 8 and to the left of the latter, on every line of rails, stood an empty silent train. There they stood, covering almost the entire station, with no sign of life anywhere and no attempt at mourning drapery, but, nevertheless, strangely, mournfully impressive in the unwonted still- ness. Alongside of platform No. 8 stood the long royal train of saloon carriages, and slightly forward was the funeral car, heavily draped with purple hangings, in which the coiBn was to be conveyed to Windsor. On the wide platform, the whole length of which was covered with a crimson carpet, just opposite the funeral car, was a large circular bed of white blossoms and evergreena Below this on the curbstone stood a row of purple-covered blocks, with a couple of steps facing the train for the convenience of the mowmers alighting from the carriages. At nearly every door of the saloon carriages stood a liveried servant, some wearing long drab coats with crepe armlets, others in scarlet, and others in black, while here and there stood groups of court servants wearing an infinite variety of liveries. Lord Cawdor, the general manager of the line, and other officials vigilantly watched everything, while military officers, some mounted and others afoot, wearing every kind of uniform in the British army, moved hither and thither, giving directions in tones inaudible to any except those addressed. Everything and everybody was silent within and no sound entered from without. Banged in the cent^ of the roadway opposite the funeral car stood a Guard of Honor of a hundred marines, standing at attention with fixed bayonets. Before them stood an officer with a color sergeant on either side hold- ing up the Queen's colors draped in black. Such was the silent, picturesque scene of which surely no railway station had ever yet seen the like, as the cortege was awaited. At 12:15 o'clock a little company of servants entered, carrying a profusion of magnificent wreaths, all of white flowers, which they placed in the funeral car. Fifteen minutes afterward the staff officer leading the procession entered. Officers, officials and servants fell into line, and those seated stood up and remained so to the end. Then the only sound THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 419 was the slow tramp of troops forming the front position of the cortege, still marching in funeral step, with arms reversed, but who now nuirched in closer order. As each body passed the Queen's car rifles were brought to the salute, then shouldered, and the men breaking into double step passed quickly out the other end of the station. Presently the sweet, sad strains of Beethoven's most familiar funeral march and the low, thrill- ing roll of thirty muffled side drums penetrated the station. A little later the foreign attaches entered and drew up alongside the Guard of Honor, then the headquarters staff did likewise, and Earl Boberts, attended by one aid, entered alone. Every hat was instinctively doffed and replaced, but there was not a sound save the footsteps of the troops leaving the far end of the station and that of the band still playing as they massed at the top platform. Then the Earl Marshal's party and his aids drew up by the headquarters staff. Earl Roberts alone having dismounted, stood carry- ing his baton near the King's carriage. As the gun carriage entered, a strange hush fell upon the crowd, every hat was again removed, and the soldiers saluted until it was drawn ^up opposite to the funeral car. Then, when the King, with his regal and princely company had entered, there was for the first time, and only for a few moments, a scene of bright kaleidoscopic movement. An army of silk-hatted, black-coated grooms rushed forward to lead every rider's charger. Kings, Princes, attaches, and aids dismounted, and in a pioment the crimson-carpeted platform was covered with a brilliant, moving throng. In a few seconds, however, all were ranged about the King's saloon carriage. Then the state carriages entered. The Queen alighted first. She was saluted by all on the platform and the salute was maintained till the King had handed her into the cars. Then the other ladies rapidly passed into their saloon carriages, and next came the moving of the coffin. Its coverings were removed and the plain oak, brass- mounted casket stood in its simplicity upon the khaki-colored gun car- riage. At the moment the gun carriage entered the station the Queen's colors were drooped to the ground and the black-draped royal standard upheld. Then, with every hand to the salute, the baxeheaded guards and household cavalrymen bore the coffin into the car. Within a minute 420 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONiES. every door of the train was closed on a party such as no train had ever before carried. Sopie officials gave a last brief inspection to every car, then the only person left on the platform was a bareheaded guard carry- ing a green flag and giving a look up and down the train. He dropped the flag, and slowly, silently, alm6st imperceptibly, the train moved out Every eye followed it, every raised hat seemed to be instinctively held out toward its retreating form in mute farewell, bands ceased play- ing, and for a moment all was silence. No one moved or spoke. All seemed to realize that the capital of Victoria's world-wide empire had looked its last upon its best-loved monarch. The first sound to break the stillness was audible throughout the station. It was an officer's sharp, though not loud, command, "Raise the colors." Then the Guard of Honor marched briskly out and the strangely silent assemblage made its way into the busy, congested streets. It was just after 1:30 o'clock when the train departed and Victoria, Queen and Empress, had made her last progress through the heart of her realm. A dense crowd of people who hoped to avoid the throngs in London by coming to Windsor had already made the streets impassable by 11 o'clock, although it was at least three hours before the Queen's body would arrive. Purple and black draperies hung from thronged open windows, and all along the narrow, stone-paved, winding streets there were decorations. Crimson-cloaked Heavy Dragoons, finely mounted, were backing their horses toward the pavements to keep the crowd back along the line of march. The infantrymen had their arms stacked, and were gathered in groups awaiting the oi*der to form. Yeomen of the Guard, in the beefeater's garb, with gorgeous tunics and red, padded hose, were passing along shivering, looking like stage supernumeraries. The funeral train arrived at 2:24 o'clock. A gunshot signaled the arrival of the cortege at Windsor, and thereafter minute guns were fired. The programme here wiis upset, owing to the restiveness of the horses attached to the gun-carriage. The long wait in the cold made them uneasy, and they became almost unmanageable in the station yard. There was only a slight delay, however. They were unharnessed, and the blue jackets, forming the Guard of Honor, took their places and THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 421 hauled the gun-carriage on which rested the Queen^s body the rest of the way to the castle. It was under gray, lowering skies that the Queen^s body was drawn through High street to the gate of Windsor Park. The spectacle recalled something of the brief pageant from Osborne, but it was with- out the presence of Queen Alexandra and the royal Princesses. They were overwrought by the protracted solemnities, and entered carriages and drove direct from Windsor station to the castle, without traversing the funeral route. As the minute guns boomed from the castle walk a troop of mounted Life Guards in scarlet cloaks and white plumes moved like a glow of warmth through the bare street between the black, cold-benumbed crowds. Following them came three pursuivants-at-arms, with their long satin cloaks emblazoned with the design of the royal standard. The sight of gentlemen attired in the symbols of heraldry and medieval- ism recurred constantly in the slow-moving train. The foreign envoys wore resplendent uniforms. Major-General Pole Carew, in his General's uniform and marching afoot, led his staff in front of a deputation of officers of the German cavalry regiment, of which the Queen was hon- orary Colonel. Following them, after a space, came Lord Roberts, walking alone, and holding a Field Marshal's baton. He was greeted as he passed with a hum of admiring attention. Earl Roberts walked with a fixed and jsorrowful gaze. He made no response whatever to the salutations of the onlookers. Following him came the band of the Life Guards playing Beethoven's march, and pre- ceding the Duke of Norfolk as Earl Marshal of England with the cere- monial officers of England. The coffin, which the sailors were drawing to its journey's end, was covered with the same brilliant, yet solemn embroidery and insignia of the day before; the King and the Kaiser, with an increased number of Princes, walked silently behind, looking as though the end of their sorrowful duty would be a relief. The officers and their staffs following gave a resplendent, kaleidoscopic color to the scene. Every uniform in Europe mingled with Turkish, Japanese, and South Americans. Ambas- sador Choate, in plain black mourning, walked in the center of the front row of special envoys. The horses belonging to the gun-carriage followed at the end of the procession. They were cramped with cold while waiting, and could not 422 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. be moved from the station when the coffin was placed on the platform. They had been unyoked and the blue jackets, handy men to the last, fastened ropes to the gun-carriage, and a chain of outer men linking arms and helping those in the center, moved the carriage at a regular funeral pace to the Castle and entered the gates at 3 o'clock. The coffin was borne past the entire length of the Castle into the western entrance of the dimly lit St. George's Chapel. When the rows of pews, rising on either side of the nave nearly to the roof, were filled with splendidly attired royalties, special envoys, and their military and naval suites, it formed a picture of supreme grandeur. The chapel choir, the Archbishop, the Bishops, and other clergy met the procession at the west door. From the organ loft midway of the nave and the chancel came the strains of Mendelssohn's march from "Songs Without Words," in E minor. The sound of the organ died away, and the choir commenced singing softly the sentences for the ^ead. The solemn cortege proceeded up the nave, which was thronged with the highest and noblest women of England. "Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Refuge," to Felton's setting, was next sung by the choir, which had now taken its place in the transept to the right of the altar. The coffin rested upon a catafalque placed at the steps of the altar. The cross over the communion table was covered with white flowers, and the reredos behind was almost concealed with sprays of fern dotted with lilies. The Bishop of Winchester read the lesson from the fifteenth chapter of Corinthians. "Man that is born of woman" was chanted by the choir to Wesley's music, followed by "Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secrets of Our Hearts." The Dean of Windsor read "I Heard a Voice," and the choir sang the Lord's Prayer to the music composed especially for the dead Queen by Gounod. Once more the strains of the choir welled np through the ancient chapel with the singing of "How Blessed Are They That Die," by Tschaikowsky. The Archbishop of Canterbury read the Collect, and with quavering voice pronounced the benediction. There was a solemn pause while all heads bowed. A few sobs were heard, and the choir then broke the oppressive stillness with the sweet harmony of "The Dresden Amen." Then the loud tones of Norroy Eing-of-Arms, William Henry Wei- don, proclaimed the dead monarch's title. The Spohr anthem, "Blessed Are the Departed," followed, and the serrice was concluded by the play- I ^ THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 423 ing of Beethoven's funeral march by Sir Walter Parratt, organist of St George's Chapel and private organist to the late Queen. The great east window of St. George's Chapel, with its faint stained figures, threw a soft light over this burial and worshiping place of Kings. Before each oaken stall glimmered the waxen taper that bums when Knights of the Garter worship there. Above their heads, resting upon the carved sabers of the stalls, were the special insignia of each knight, while hanging over this were the motionless banners bearing the strange devices of the members of this most powerful order. On each side of the chancel flamed two rows of candles^ causing the gold and red of the knights to glitter. In somber contrast with these rows of lights and color sat the long line of Princesses and ladies-in- waiting, making a foreground of deepest black. On the alt^r two tapers burned, and within the rail on each side stood two large candelabra. The profusion of flowers which was displayed outside the chapel ceased within. On the chancel only a very few lilies and the most deli- cate green ferns were used for the altar decorations. There was no crepe anywhere. Among the early arrivals were Ministers and ex-Ministers in full state uniform, their breasts a mass of gold braid. All the members of the Cabinet took their seats in a row. Lord Salisbury followed, wearing a velvet skull cap and wrapped in an ordinary black overcoat. When this was taken off it revealed a plain uniform. The ladies-in-waiting, deeply veiled, took their seats on a long bench below the stalls. The first member of the diplomatic corps to arrive was the Turkish Ambas- sador. Long before the stalls were filled the nave was packed. It was here that the stands had been erected, and the chancel screen on the organ completely prevented several hundred in the nave from seeing what went on in the church. Now and again one of the gentlemen-at-arms, keeping on his huge helmet and gauntlets, his sword dangling at his heels, walked up to the quiet chancel to make some final arrangements. Lord Rosebery came in about 1:15 o^clock. The most of the diplo- matic corps occupied nearly two entire rows of stalls on the right of the chancel. The most noticeable, by reason of his brilliant robes^ was the Chinese Minister. Baron Eckhardstein, the giant of the diplomatic corps, who was in attendance upon Count von Hatzgeldt-Wildenburg, the German Ambas- 424: THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. sador, towered above all others in the magnificent white and gold uni- form of the German army. The Haytien Minister, with his pitch-black face, formed a severe contrast to Count von Hatzgeldt, who sat next to him. The Ambassadors, Cabinet Ministers, Knights of the Garter, and the noble congregation waited patiently while the gentlemen-at-arms took up their stand at the chancel, immediately in front of the pitiful line of mourning women. In their right hands they carried halberds, and even against the brilliant background of the stalls these huge scar- let figures stood out conspicuously. From the courtyard came the sounds of sharp commands as the troops were brought to attention or were shifted to some better position. Two o^clock came, and the congregation was coughing uneasily. The long wait was trying. At 2 :15 o'clock Sir Walter Parratt, at the organ, commenced playing Mendelssohn's march in E minor from the '^Songs Without Words." The Castle clock struck the half-hour, and the organ ceased. Quietly, with no heraldry, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, and the Dean of Windsor walked from the vestry down to the chancel. The nobles rose to their feet tfnd remained standing. Behind the Bishops came the choir. The sound of the guns saluting was heard and silence fell on the assemblage. Ten minutes passed, and Sir Walter Parratt played softly. The white-haired statesmen, one by one, dropped into their seats. The strain was too much, and the diplomats followed suit. The music of the bands playing could be heard, first faintly and then nearer and nearer, until the majestic roll of the funeral march penetrated every corner of the chapel. For fifteen minutes the congregation listened to military bands outside. At 3 -.20 p. m. the doors swung open. "I Am the Resurrection" was sung by the choir. Slowly the white-robed boys made their way up the aisle. After the Archbishop of Canterbury came the white-rods, then the coflBn, and then the equerries, carrying the pall and regalia. Grena- diers carried the coffin. Walking together came the King, Emperor William, and the Duke of Connaught. Beside them were the King of the Belgians, the King of Greece, and the King of Portugal, and after them came the royal Princes, who filled the chancel and aisles, and whose suites crowded THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 4»6 I into the nave. Mr. Choate, in evening dress, entered with the procession and sat in the comer, near the Master of Ceremonies. The choir having passed to the right of the altar, and the Qneen and Princesses having passed to their positions in the Qneen's gallery, overlooking the altar, the service proceeded. The Archbishop stood at the altar steps, directly before the coffin. On his left was the Bishop of Winchester, clad in scarlet robes, who read the regular lesson for the dead. As the benediction was pronounced the King and all present bent their heads low. An impressive feature was the King-of-Arm^s pronouncement of the titles of the deceased. Standing before the altar, he went through the old formula, ending up with "God save the King,*' delivered so force- fully and dramatically that his hearers started, stung into a realization of the change of regime which had so suddenly come about. At 4 o^clock service was over. The Archbishop of Canterbury bowed his head on the altar and prayed, and the Kings and Princes passed to the left of the altar, leaving the coffin and the catafalque, and passing into the Cattle. A commemoration service was held at St. Paul's at 3 o'clock. The cathedral was full within fifteen minutes after the doors had been oi>ened. The Lord Mayor and members of the corporation of the City of London, in their robes, representatives of the Royal Academy, the Academy of Music, and other societies privileged to use the prefix "royal," were present. A full band played Sullivan's "In Memoriam" overture, "O Rest in the Lord," and Beethoven's funeral march before the service, introducing the dead march in "Saul" at the end of the anthem. Twenty-three clergymen were present. Dean Gregory, who was born in 1819, preached the sermon. He referred in a broken voice to "those of us who have reached the Queen's age," and spoke of the changes during Victoria's reign. He thought an improvement had been made in every way, especially in moral life, thanks to the example of the Queen. The square around the cathedral was filled with people who were unable to enter and who waited to see the congregation disi>er8e. The service at Westminster Abbey commenced at 2 o'clock, when crowds of people attempting to secure admission were restrained by the police outside the grounds. Canon Henson conducted a most impressive ceremony, consisting chiefly of solemn music and funeral marches. Sir 426 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. Frederick Bridge accompanied a band whose brass instmrnents, with the thunderous tones of the organ, in the dead march in "Saul/^ awoke every comer of the old Abbey and found a sympathetic echo in every heart. This was evidenced by the tearful faces of many women. The congregations at the Abbey and at St. PauPs were in the deepest mourn- ings occasionally relieved by officers in uniform. No whisper or move- ment disturbed the solemn occasion. In every town and village throughout the United Kingdom business was stopped, shades were drawn down, the public buildings were draped, and there were services for the dead in the cathedrals and in all the Anglican and in many of the non-conformist churches. Some half a hundred individuals and societies at Birmingham, in a snowstorm, piled up wreaths of flowers at the foot of Queen Victorians statue. At Manchester the civic body and leading men marched in procession through the principal thoroughfares to the cathedral services. The non- conformist bodies at the same time held a great memorial meeting in Free Trade Hall, while others attended overflow meetings. In Dublin the Lord Mayor and thirteen of the corporation, robed, with the Judges and other notable persons, went to St. Patrick's cathe- dral. This building and most of the Protestant churches were draped with purple, edged with gold. At Leeds the street-railway men held a midnight meeting and deter- mined not to work that day, as they had been requested to do. An imposing service was held at Edinburgh, in St. Giles' Cathedral. The late Queen's retainers at Balmoral and the people of the coun- tryside generally toiled through the snow-bound roads to a service held at Crathie parish church, which was attended by the Queen when stay- ing at Balmoral. Cable dispatches from all parts of the Empire gave details of similar observances. Everywhere there was a suspension of business. Foreign countries were not behind the British colonies in mourning Queen Vic- toria. From all parts of the world came cable reports that the day was commemorated by special services, some of which were of an official character. At Lisbon the day was one of national mourning and throughout Portugal flags were half-masted, the ships and forts firing guns at fifteen minute intervals. At night a salute of twenty-one guns was fired and the theaters were closed. o (A Q < u tA o o o u > CO CO (^ ID o s o ID fa CO < o 12? 01 THE END OF THE QUEENS LAST JOURNEY: THE PROCESSION LEAVING WINDSOR FOR FROG MO RE THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 429 At. Teheran a^ impressive service in the Protestant church was attended by the Princes, Grand Vizier, Ministers, high officials, diplo- matic corps, and all the Europeans. In Jerusalem a service was held in St George's Church. The consuls and local authorities attended in uniform. From Dresden, Trieste, Tangier, Port Said, Funchal, Copen- hagen, Madrid, Calcutta, Shanghai, Bombay, Rome, Vienna, and scores f of other points the same story was repeated. In every case the services were attended by the local authorities and representatives of the coi^rts. In the presence of a distinguished assemblage in Washington, includ- ing the President of the United States and his entire Cabinet, impressive tribute was rendered to England's dead Queen. The ceremony occurred at St. John's Episcopal Church, beginning at 11 o'clock Saturday morn- ing, and was distinctly official in character. The British Ambassador, Lord Pauncefote, had been directed by the London Foreign Office to bestow this last mark of respect to the dead sovereign, and the time was chosen so as to correspond exactly with the solemn pageant in London as the mother of rulers was borne to Windsor. The quaint old church where the services were held was taxed to its utmost capacity with a great crowd eager to gain admission. Long before the hour for the services to begin the surrounding streets were packed with people, some bearing cards of admission, and many more without cards, content to get a glimpse of the distinguished personages present. The church had been elaborately prepared for the occasion. Within the sanctuary were great masses of flowers with tall palms and potted plants, and purple badges of mourning, purple being the pre- dominant color of mourning, instead of somber black, in accordance with the precedent established in London. On each side of the altar the tall pillars were wrapped in pui^le, with great scarfs of purple entwining sheaves of laurel and palm. Both the altar and the chancel rails were looped with purple, and at either hand long streamers of purple held massive clusters of white lilies and palms. Over this profusion of color fell a flood of soft sunlight, reflected through the rich stained-glass windows back and at each side of the chancel. President McKinley and members of his Cabinet arrived shortly befbre 11 o'clock, and were escorted to seats on the right of the church, immediately fronting the chancel. With the President sat Secretaries Hay, Oage and Boot, while back of them were Secretaries Long, Hitch- 430 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. cock and Wilson, Attorney General Griggs and Postmaster General Smith. Chief Justice Fuller and the associate Justices ^of the United States Supreme C!ourt occupied pews immediately to the rear of the Presidential party, while to the right were ranged Senators and naem- bers of the House of Representatives, including the presiding officer of the Senate, Mr. Frye, and Speaker Henderson. The presence of the diplomatic corps in full uniform lent a touch of brilliancy to the otherwise somber surroundings. Lord Pauncefote was in the full uniform of his high diplomatic office, with a black band about his left arm, and a knot of crepe on the hilt of his sword. He was accom- panied by Lady Pauncefote, and the Hon. Misses Pauncefote, and by the many members of the Embassy staff, including Lieutenant Oolonel Kitson in the brilliant scarlet uniform of His Majest/s service, and Captain Baily, in the uniform of the royal navy. Each of the British officials wore a heavy band of crepe about the left arm. The British Embassy officials occupied seats fronting the chancel, and just to the left of the President. Across the aisle sat the French Ambassador, M. Cambon; the Rus- sian Ambassador, Count Cassini; the German Ambassador, Dr. von Holleben; the Italian Ambassador, Baron Fava, and the Mexican Ambassador, Senor Aspiroz, each in the full uniform of AmbaBsadorial rank. Back of them were ranged the Ministers of various countries^ including the Duke d'Arcos, the Spanish Minister, the Turkish Minis- ter and his suite, all wearing the characteristic red fez, and the Chinese Minister and members of his staff in their rich Oriental silks. No lesa resplendent was the representation from the United States army and navy. Half-way back sat Lieutenant General Miles and Admiral Dewey, accompanied by their large staffs, wearing the uni- forms of high rank. Back of them were ranged many Admirals, Gen- eralS) and officers of lesser rank. An added military aspect to the occasion was given by the presence of army and navy officers in full uniform, acting as ushers. At 11 o'clock the soft strains of the organ and the distant sound of the processional hymn floated through the edifice, and with measured tread the white-robed choir boys entered the sanctuary, singing "For All Thy Saints." Following them came the many church officials, taking part in the ceremony, including Bishop Henry Y. Satterlee, D. D., Bishop of Washington; Dr. Alexander Mackay-Smith, rector of the r//£ IMPkBSSlVE FUNEkAL C^kEMONlES. 431 Church of the Epiphany, and the Rev. Ernest M. Paddock, acting chap- lain to the Bishop. The service was that bf the Church of England for the burial of the dead. The lesson, taken from First Corinthians, was read by Dr. Mackay- Smith,s and Dr. Paddock led in the intoning of the prayers. At the conclusion of the prayers Bishop Satterlee stepped forward to the chancel rail, and in impressive tones delivered an address on .Victoria. Bishop Satterlee said in part: ^^This is a memorable moment in the annals of history. "As the church bells are tolling the eleventh hour in England fhis day, the solemn funeral rites of England's Queen for three score years are being held amid the hush of a nation's silence; and at the same hour, as the siin circles round the earth, all through the British Empire and wherever else a Church of England service is held, the same oflBce for the burial of the dead is being said. "It is as though the funeral at Windsor to-day were a mirror in which* we behold ten thousand other passing scenes; as though th^ service there were echoed over land and sea, while the voice of a great multi- tude, like the sound of i many waters, rises up from earth to heaven. And at each of these myriad services human lips are uttering the same devotional words^ human souls are breathing the same prayers, and human hearts are bowed down with the same deep sense of loss — ^the loss, as it were, of a personal friend. She was one with her people in their lives; she is now one with them in her death; one with them in her hope of a joyful resurrection, and all her Christian people feel that as she was faithful unto death, so the Lord shall give unto her a crown of life. For the world is a better world for the Queen's life as a servant of God. "There are some characters so pure, so true, and unselfish in their unaffected simplicity, that they belong not only to their own country, but to the world at large. Something is there in the quality of their lives which enriches human history and makes stronger our faith in human nature itself. "Sudh was Queen Victoria. To the English nation Her Majesty, with the scepter of the British Empire in ^er hand, was first the sovereign, then the woman. "England has had many illustrious sovereigns, from William the Conqueror down, whose signal victories, powers of administration, and 432 THE IMPRESSIVE PVl^ERAL CEREMONIES. gifts of leadership shine resplendent oB the pages of history; bat where among them aU do we And another whose reign has been such an inspir- ation to all that was noble and true in the hearts of the nation, or one who was as loving, as jnst as that gracious, beloved British sovereign whose burial we are solemnizing this day? In her life as a Queen she showed the world that even on a royal throne character is the noblest of all human possessions. "Very characteristic and full of deep significance now — ^in a moment like this, when her whole life is being lived over again in the memory of others — is that familiar tale which is told of heT earlier days. "When it was first announced to her that she was to be England's Queen the reply sprang instantaneously to her lips, *I will be good.' "And afterward, when one of the Princes of India asked the young Queen the cause of England's power and greatness, she placed a Bible in his hand and said: ^The source of England's greatness is there.' And happy will the Kings and Queens of the future be if, drinking in the inspiration of her life, their people, in coming days and centuries^ will rejoice to compare their reigns with that of the good Queen Victoria." Dr. McKim read the burial ritual of the Episcopal Church, and Bishop Satterlee pronounced the benediction. Then, as the choristers moved from the sanctuary singing the "Recessional" hymn, the Presi- dent and his party and the distinguished assemblage quietly withdrew, and the impressive tribute to England's Queen was at an end* Memorial services for Queen Victoria filled Trinity Church in New York to the doors, while over 6,000 people were turned away. All the members of the consular corps of the city were present in full uniform. The service in Trinity was preceded by one in the crypt of the Cathedral of St. John, at which Bishop Potter officiated. When the organ pealed forth the first strains of Chopin's funeral march, in the opening voluntary, there was not an unoccupied seat in the church, and the aisles were crowded with men and women. Major General Brooke, commanding the Department of the East, United States army, and his staflf, occupied a front pew, opposite the one occupied by Sir Percy Sanderson and his staflf. They wore full dress uniforms. Among others present were Admiral Barker, United States navy, and Andrew Carnegie. The Eev. Dr. Morgan Dix, rector of Trinity Church, led in the pro- cession. Among the oflSciating clergymen were the Most Rev. John T. £?■:.. ^ THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 433 Lewis, Archbishop of Ontario and metropolitan; Bishop WorthingtoD of Nebraska; the Rev. Parker Morgan, D, D., and the Rev. E. Walpole Warren. The lesson was read by the Rev. Parker Morgan, rector of the Church of Heavenly Rest. The apostles' creed and the prayers were chanted by the Rev. E. Walpole Warren. The closing prayers were offered by the Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix. The Archbishop of Ontario pro- nounced the benediction. Mepiorial services, touching and appropriate, were conducted by the Episcopal clergy of Chicago at St. James' Episcopal Church Saturday afternoon in memory of Queen Victoria. Nearly the entire civilized world was represented at the service to do honor to the memory of England's Queen. I The Episcopal burial service in its entirety, and with all the solem- nity and simplicity that makes the service one of the most touching and beautiful, was followed. The lesson was read by the Rev. Joseph Rush- ton, the city missionary for the church. The burial service and address was read and delivered by the rector, the Rev. J. S. Stone, D. D. The prayers and benediction were uttered by the Rev. C. P. Anderson, "bishop coadjutor, who represented Bishop McLaren. The tribute paid by the Rev. Dr. Stone in his address left but ftew dry eyes in the assemblage. At the close, faint sounds of sobs explained that many in the congregation felt and remembered all that had been said by the rector of their former country-woman and Queen. The Rev. Dr. Stone said in part: "At this service your presence is a tribute of respect not only to the grief of an empire, but also to the memory of a Queen. The grief is pro- found, the memory is sacred; and with both, in every nation, and espe- cially in this country, many are in sympathy. The British Empire has lost a monarch; the world has lost a friend. The magnitude of that loss may be realized by the expressions of sorrow which from all parts of the world have been as affectionate as they were spontaneous. A pure and noble spirit has gone from among men; an influence that the nations recognize was ever for good and never for ill; a genius that ranks high among earth's pfinces. "The world has suffered a loss. To her people she will be remem- bered as all that is noble. Britain stands disconsolate. Sister nations take her by the hand and sympathize. Victoria's crown now rests on M 43t THE IMPRESSIVE. FUNERAL CEREMONIES. the brow of Edward VII. In fullest eympathy America to-day joins in with the world in saying, *God save the King.' '' The opera qudrter of Paris on Saturday resembled London on a Sunday. All the shops had their shutters up and this gave a melan- choly appearance to this usually gay quarter. The flags were becreped everywhere and were at half mast on the ofScial buildings while great numbers of the people were dressed in mourning. At 11 o'clock the official services in the English church in the Bue d'Aguessau were held in the exact form of the services at St. Paul's in London. The church was elaborately draped, the entire facade being of sable arches, while the church bore the insignia, ^^V. R. L," with the royal arms on a back- ground. The interior was similarly decorated. There was a distinguished attendance. M. Combarieu represented President Loubet. Madame Loubet was also present, as well as Gen- eral Zurlinden, Prince Bonaparte, Admirals Givas and Duperre, Gen- eral Andre, President Fallieres of the Senate, President Deschanel of the Chamber of Deputies, Premier Waldeck-Rousseau, most of the mem- bers of the Ministry, United States Ambassador Porter and Mrs. Porter, and most of the diplomatic corps. In the afternoon, at the same church, services were held by the English colony. The church was packed. At 5 o'clock services were held in the American church in the Avenue de I'Alma, for the American colony. The United States Ambassador and Mrs. Porter attended. All over Canada there were demonstrations of mourning for Queen Victoria. At Ottawa, the headquarters of the civil government, services were held, attended by the Governor General, the officials, and repre- sentatives of the people. In every city of any size, from Halifax to Van- couver, buildings and stores were draped in the mourning colors, black and purple and white, and religious services were held by all denomina- tions. Halifax, being the military headquarters in British North America, was the chief city of mourning in Canada. In many of the churches services were held and the bells were tolled. The chief interest centered in the military exercises at the garrison chapel, which were attended with great pomp. Colonel Biscoe, commanding the forces in British North America, attended by the officers of the staff, paid tribute to the dead sovereign, and the Episcopalian soldiers of the garrison were also in attend^nc^. l^kLJkAy^: THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 436 At St. Paul's the Lieutenant Governor, representative of the King, accompanied by a staff of officers, attended services. The Bishop of Nova Scotia paid a tribute to the memory of the Queen. Solemn high mass was celebrated in the Roman CathoHc Cathedral, the Roman Catholic soldiers of the garrison being in attendance. In the evening eighty-one guns were fired at the citadel, the last one just at sunset, and, in accordance with the wish of the King, the fortress flags were kept at half-mast until after the following Tuesday. Memorial services were held in the English church at St. Peters- burg, Russia. The British Ambassador, Sir Charles Scott, received the Czar, Czarina and Dowager Czarina in the corridor, and amon^ those present were all the Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses, all the leading members of the aristocracy, and the diplomatic corps, including the United States Ambassador, Charlemagne Tower, who was accompanied by Mrs. Tower. The Czar wore the insignia of the Order of the Garter. Services were held in the British- American dissident church. The Czar and Czarina and a distinguished company attended the meniorial services held in the English- American church in honor of the Queen. All the English business houses were closed in Brussels as a mark of respect to the Queen. There was a memorial service at the Church of the Resurrection, wh^ch was largely attended. The British Minister, Edmund C. Phipps, with his staff, the foreign diplomats and representa- tives of Senate and Chamber were present. The Count and Countess of Flanders represented the royal family at a service in Antwerp, which* was attended by the civil and military authorities. There were two memorial services for the Queen in Berlin. One for the diplomatic corps, for which invitations were issued by the court, was held in St. George's Church at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and the other, for English residents and visitors, was held at the same place . an hour later. The Emperor was represented at the first service by Chancellor von Buelow. Ambassador White and the attaches of the American embassy also attended, in compliance with instructions from Washington. Rarely, if ever, has such a superb collection of magnificent wreaths been seen as that which arrived at Windsor. The limited supply of liUes of the valley, arums and white roses nearly ran out, and the west end florists charged abnormally high prices for the few appropriate flowers left. The United States was well represented in these floral 436 THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. deBigna The wredth sent by President McKinley was described by experts as a most chaste and lovely offering. Its diameter was eight feet and it signified, by its unbroken contour, a full and perfect life. The Amencan Ambassa4or sent a cross seven feet in height, made wholly of lilies of the valley. The English people, bearing in mind that when PreBident Garfield was assassinated, the Queen sent a message of sympathy to his widow, were touched by the fact that Mrs. Garfield in her turn sent a wreath to Windsor. The inscription on a white ribbon was: '^Frorn Mrs. Garfield, in grateful remembrance of the Queen's kind- ness to her." Hundreds of people poured into Windsor during the morning hourb on Monday, and by one o'clock the long walk was black with spectators, mostly from the surrounding country, waiting for a last glimpse of the CO Attn containing the remains of Queen Victoria. The sun was shining brightly. The representatives of royal families arrived from London about 1 o'clock and drove to Windsor Castle. The streets of the old town were still hung with wreaths, sadly faded since Saturday. The stores were closed during the interment. DiEmounted Life Guardsmen in their scarlet cloaks, the white plumes of their helmets glistening in the sun, kept the route clear from the Castle slope* Amid the bare boughs of trees below the mist arose from the damp earth, trampled into mud by the uneasy few thousands. The air was sharp and cold. From the Albert Memorial Chapel to the mausoleum, nearly a mile from the great gate of the Castle, there is a steep slope of five hundred yardSj at the bottom of which is the lodge gate and a fence. On the Castle side of this were hundreds of ticket holders. On the other side, where the long walk commences, the public was massed. At 2:45 p. m, a picturesque touch of color was added to the scene. Sir Walter Parratt, private organist to the late Queen and organist of St; George's Chapel Royal, Windsor, and his choir, tfU in surplices and college caps, walked quickly down the slope, through the crowds to the mausoleum. Then minute guns commenced to boom, as a battery of artillery at the foot of the long walk paid its final honors to the dead Queen. The WlBtd^pr chpnch bells toljed solemnly and the strains of the band. If ^ ' i * THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 437 gradually growing stronger and stronger, echoed from the Castle quad' rangle. At 3:15 p. XXL the head of the processioil passed slowly out df King George^s arch in the following order: The Queen's Company of Grenadier Guards^ with Arms Reversed. The Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle, the Duke of ArgylL Highlanders and Pipers, Royal Servants. Band of the Grenadier Guarda The Bishop of Winchester and the Dean of Windsor. The Lord Chamberlain and the Lord Steward, The gun carriage, with the coffin, supported by the late Quieen's equerries and household, flanked by the same officers as appeared in Saturday's ceremony in London. Close behind walked the King, Emperor William and the Duke of Connaught, wearing dark military overcoats and plumed cocked hats, and looking pale and careworn. In similar dull attire were the Kings of Portugal and Belgium. All heads were bent. The blue and gray of the German Princes redeemed the royal group from perfect sombemess of color. Behind these walked Queen Alexandra and the royal Princesses, deeply veiled. The Queen carried an umbrella, but the others had their hands folded. As the last trio of these veiled women passed out from the Castle there came two boys dressed in bright tartan kilts and velvet jackets. Between them was a young girl, her fair loose hair glittering against the crepe of her inourning. Two of these were children of Prin* cess Henry of Battenberg, and the other was little Prince Edward of York. His tiny legs could hardly keep pace even with the slow progress of the mourning band. The rear of the procession was brought up by the suites of the Kings and Princes, their vari-colored overcoats forming a striking patch of color. Down the long walk, with the band still playing Chopin's dirge, this quiet throng slowly made its way to the mausoleum. The horses attached to the gun carriage were inclined to be restive, but as an extra precaution, a drag of ropes was attached to the wheels and held by sturdy artillerymen. At the lodge gates the strains of the band died I '438 THE Impressive funeral ceremonies. away, and the pipers began their lament. There, between the broad avenne of stately trees, the crowds were the thickest, forming dense black banks. ' By 3^30 p. m. the bier had passed into the other lodge, which leads % to the Progmore inclosnre, where none but the family and servants were admitted. The choir met tjiem and the royal family and their relatives entered the burial place so dear to the late Queen, ranging themselves on each side of the coflSn. The coffin was borne from the gun carriage by the Orenadiers, the pipers ceased their dirge, and the choir, moving forward, began to sing, "Yet, Though I Walk Through the Valley Before.'^ Entering the mausoleum they sang, "Man That Is Born of Woman." While the royal family took their places around the coffin the dome of Victoria's tomb re-echoed with the sad strains of "Lord, Thou Knowest." The Bishop of Winchester, standing on the platform surrounding the marble figure of the Prince (Consort, on which rested the Queen's coffin, read the committal prayer and the Lord's Prayer. Then the choir sang "Sleep Thy Last Sleep," the Dean said the Collect, the choir broke forth into the anthem, "The Face of Death Is Turned Toward the Sun of Life," and, with hands outstretched over the congregation, the Bishop of Win- chester pronounced the benediction. A short, solemn silence followed, broken by the sweet cadence of Stainer's "Amen," and then King Edward and Emperor William, the visiting Kings and the Queen and Princesses filed before the bier and passed out to their carriages. The funeral ceremonials filled the newspapers with eulogies of the dead Queen's character, praise for her reign, and sorrow for her demise. The civilized world expressed its grief in universal mourning, and not even in England was sorrow more sincerely manifested over this calamity to the British race than in the United States. Statesmen, clergymen, journalists, and men and women of every station and every lalling Jo life bore testimony to her worth as a woman and a Queen. Many of these eulogies are quoted in a previous chapter of this work, imd following others may be found which show the universal regard in which England's greatest Queen was held, and the respect that was Bhown to her memory. Justin McCarthy, in a specially written forecast of "The New Reign in England," said in part; h THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 439 "It Is not too much to say of Victoria that she was the first constitu- tional monarch who ever sat on the throne of England. "Victoria was a woman whose every action in her public and private life appears to have been guided by a strict sense of duty. Her ideas were always exalted and expanded. She made it her businiess to study carefully every question submitted for her decision, and her knowledge of political affairs at home and abroad was both wide and accurate. She was, above all things, a constitutional sovereign — that is to say, while she expressed her own views and endeavored so far as she fairly could to impress her own judgment upon her constitutional advisers, she always yielded in the end to the decision of those who were for the ^ time the accredited representatives of Parliament and the people. "We all know now and have known for a long time, on the authority of documents published and authenticated volumes, that in more than one great crisis her judgment was proved by the course of events to be right and that of her constitutional advisers to be wrong. We know, for instance, in the case of the Crimean war, the policy which she recom- mended has been now set down by the judgment of history as the right policy; and not merely was she right in the opinion at which she arrived, but her reasons for holding that opinion have found their justi- fication in subsequent events. "But the Queen nevertheless acted in the true spirit of a constitu- tional sovereign when she allowed her own judgment to be overborne for the time by those whom a majority of the people had, under the existing system, declared to be the accredited representatives of the national will. "To take another illustration, the Queen undoubtedly was right when at the opening of the great American Civil War she set herself steadily against the unfriendly and even hostile policy which some of the leading members of the government were inclined to pursue towards the Federal States. The Queen's advice found on that occasion so much support from the most enlightened members of the Cabinet that she was able to make her judgment prevail and thus avert a calamitous quarrel between the two great English-speaking communities.'' A. E. Stevenson, former Vice-President of the United States: "The tidings of the death of Queen Victoria will be received with deep regret throughout the British realm and the world. In the highest sense hers was an exemplary life. It will stand in history in marked contrast to 44(i THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL ^ CEREMONIES. that of many who have preceded her in the great office. Her re|gn marks an epoch in English history. For two-thirds of a century she has been in name the sovereign of Qreat Britain. The fact, however, remains that she has reigned, but not ruled. Oovernmental authority has grad- ually passed from palace and throne to the hall where sit in delibera- tion the chosen representatives of the people." Lord Fauncefote, British Ambassador: ^^The many expressions of Hympathy which have come to this Embassy during the past trying days are fully appreciated. This feeling is natural when it is consid- ered that Queen Victoria has been the guiding spirit of the almost num- berless efforts for the advancement of her people at home and the bet- terment of conditions for multitudes under her sway beyond the limits of her home islands. To those who have the distinction of knowing the venerated Queen her loss is something inexpressible. Those who have served her have priceless treasures in remembering her kindliness, her eneouragement and benignant disposition to reward with more than geuero^ity the smallest personal or national service." General Nelson A. Miles: "Her reign, considering the history of the past sixty years, the important political events that have occurred, the progress made by the whole world, the part that Great Britain has played in the progress and the influence its sovereign has constantly exercised upon the affairs of the world, is the most remarkable in the history of any country. "As to the Queen and her soldiers, there has ever been a close rela- tionship between the Queen and her military forces, both army and navy. One need not be told of the deep affection of the British soldiers and sailors for the Queen after having noted the loyalty and devotion displayed wherever an English soldier or sailor is to be seen. This affection is reciprocated by the Queen. Thus her influence is felt all through the army and navy.^' Robert T. Lincoln, formerly United States Minister at London: "Queen Victoria was one of the wisest women — ^probably the wisest woman — that ever lived. I do not mean to say that she was a genius, but her great gift of common sense, re-enforced by her vast store of knowledge, enabled her to counsel men and women of all classes and coBditions with wisdom that could not be excelled.'* Bishop Potter is quoted as saying: "No human being who has lived in the last eighty-two years has exercised so enduring or remarkable an THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 441 * influence on the world as she. Like Washington^ it was her person- ality, the influence of character, that achieved* this result. You read of Napoleon, the most brilliant flgure in history, but you read with increas- ing loathing of a man so cruel, so base, as he. It is therefore not great , gifts that make the great character. ^^It is what one does, what one is, that counts with such a character as Washington or Victoria. To paraphrase the famous words of Nelson, the Queen did her duty without faltering or failure. She was alwayp womanly, pure, patient and devoted to duty." Edwin D. Mead: "There are two Englands — ^the England which has led the world in the struggle for free institutions and the world's efficient organization, and the England of selfishness, and greed, and grab, the England which at this moment is our ^kin in sin.' Queen Victoria has represented the true England. All through her reign she has warred against war. She has been emphatically the Queen of Peace, and that is the thing which will be remembered preeminently in her honor." M. M. Mangasarian: "A sister nation is mourning to-day the death of her great sovereign. Queen Victoria, As a Republic we extend to the , most republican monarchy in the world our generous and sincere sym- pathy. We weep with the English over the misfortune which has befaUen them. It is too early to pass a judgment upon the character and moral influence of Victoria. As yet we have not the data necessary to form a just and impartial valuation. Later, when we shall be given free access to the facts, we shall be able to assign to this illustrious mother Queen, this most remarkable and unique personage in English annals, her rightful place in history." The Rev. Albert Lazenby: "In vain shall we seek for her like among the great women of history, ancient or modem, sacred or profane, for she was distinguished neither by inspiration nor by valor; she has taken men neither bj< cleverness nor by guile; she has done no black deeds. She has never come to the front to guide or control popular movements. She has been a good woman, good in all the relations of her manifold life, as wife, as mother, as a sovereign." The Rev. H. W. Thomas: "The long and beautiful life of England's dying Queen has honored the home, honored wifehood and motherhood and honored woman in every land. During our war for independence there were not a few friends of the American cause in the English •-*__- .. ._i^ 442 THB IMPkESSiV^ FUNERAL CBRBMOMIES. Parliament,; and had the severe rale of George III. coiitinued much longer Great Britain would have followed her daughter as a republic- When Victoria took the throne the people were on the way to power. Personal government was giving place to constitutional monarchy, and during her reign there has been one long growth of the spirit of democ- racy. Sad it is that a reign so largely beneficent should pass out under the cloud that now envelops the Empire. The world she has helped to make better will mourn her loss." Bishop Samuel Fallows: "The shadow of a great sorrow is over the British nation. Queen Victoria is dying and a mighty empire is in tears. She has nobly fulfilled during her long and eventful reign the promise she made when first saluted as England's Queen, ^I will be good.' Her goodness was the secret of her marvelous greatness. The heart of the American people beats in profound sympathy with the heart of the English people as they bid a final farewell to the venerable and vener- ated sovereign who cherished such an affectionate regard for Americans and who delighted always to conspicuously honor them on all suitable occasions." Cardinal Gibbons: "The death of Queen Victoria will send a thrill of sorrow throughout the world, not only because of the almost univer- sal diffusion of the British Empire, but still more because of the domes- tic virtues of the woman whose long and eventful reign will be ever memorable in the annals of England and whose character will com- mand the love of her subjects and the admiration of the civilized world." Equally impressive were the tributes of the press, from which we quote a few: "It is to the glory of Victoria that she was in sympathy with the progressive statesmanship of her time; that her heart was On the side of humanity and civilization; that she encouraged and welcomed poli- cies designed for the better government of her people and the advance- ment of their welfare. If she could not prevent war her spirit and example were for peace." — New York Herald. "She was too wise to stand in the way of the gratification of the wishes of her people, or to attempt to obstruct the tendency in the direc- tion of liberalism and democracy. Perhaps her greatness is revealed in nothing more clearly than in her frank acceptance of the new without altogether letting go of the old." — Indianapolis News. **Nobody will ever speak of ^Victoria the Great,' but her virtues have N THE. IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL, CEREMONIES. 443 givei;! her a right to a better title — ^Victoria the well-beloved/ And in earning thdt name she has rendered the best possible service to the English monarchy. In a stronger grasp the frail scepter might have snapped — her Soft hand held it safe and passed it on unharmed to heip successor."— New York Journal. "As the sovereign who came to the throne a young girl and whose life has been from that day an open book without a blot on its personal record; as the wife and mother whose joys and sorrows were known to and sympathized in by the wives and mothers of the whole land; as the Queen who purged the English court of the scandals that had stained it for generations and made purity an essential to her countenance, Victoria won the affections of her own people of all ranks." — Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Except for a brief sojourn every year at Windsor she has been a stranger to the metropolitans and cosmopolitans of London. But out- side the social pale the influences exerted by the Queen for good have been far-reaching. The moral purity and simplicity of her life have had a powerful effect in shaping the ideals of the large middle class element. The very qualities which made the glare of London repugnant to her have endeared her to the British masses." — Philadelphia Record, "Her reign was more personal than political and more domestic than either. She was always conservative and careful, looking after the interests of a vast empire as a prudent woman looks after a household. She kept the name of kings and queens in good repute." — Memphis Com- mercial-Appeal. "Queen Victoria by her genuine good qualities, her devotedness to duty in every sphere, the noble example she has set as daughter, wife, mother and ruler, won the largest place in the heart of humanity ever held or filled by a female sovereign." — Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune. "Victoria was wise in that she always recognized the popular will and called into her service the representatives of popular adoration. iTnder Victoria democratic government in England has become a fact. No future monarch can withdraw the precedents by which she acknowl- edged parliamentary supremacy and emphasized the responsibility of ministerial rule." — Atlanta Constitution. "On the material side of British progress she has played a negative part, while on the spiritual side her influence has been distinctly, almost 444' THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES.' aggi'essively, positive, and both have been almost equally conduciTe to the welfare of her people/' — ^Indianapolis Press. ^'The regal state and the sceptered race strike the imagination, but the homely virtues of Victoria, her maternal love, her lifelong, touch- ing devotion to the memory of the Prince CJonsort, the picture of domes- tip felicity in which she is represented as the central and venerable figure, appeal to the common heart." — Philadelphia Ledger. "Americans owe her no allegiance, but they will not withhold from her a tribute of respect. They cannot forget that she has set before her people and the world the noble example of a pure and blamdess life and gilded her throne with all womanly virtues. It is the greatest of her distinctions that she leaves her country better for having ruled over it and the world better for having lived in it." — Baltimore Sun. "There is something profoundly pathetic in the brave struggle which this infirm old woman made to remain at her post of duty as the mler of a vast empire at a time when privacy and seclusion would have been most welcome. It is only another example of the sacrifices which are inevitably associated with great power and lofty honors." — ^Kansas City Star. "Her natural successor is a man of kindly impulses who loves his country and its people, and in an unostentatious way has done much for both; so it is probable that Victoria the woman will be mourned even more than Victoria the Queen." — Boston Transcript. "Actively interested though she has been in all great affairs it is ^probable that the statesmen with whom she has consulted would say, if the dead were living and if the living could speak, that the necessity of asking her advice has been much more often a help than a hindrance to them in carrying on their work." — Milwaukee Sentinel. "Arduous though her official duties were, and however brilliant the glamour cast around her reign, the world will remember her best for those qualities which every woman can possess. Whatever is best in womanhood is exemplified in her life." — St. Louis Republic. "The fierce light that beats upon a throne and that brings into clearest relief all the ^peering littlenesses* which occasionally tenant monarch's breasts, shed its strongest rays for over sixty years upon the private as well as the public life of the Queen, and has not at any time found her wanting in any capacity, whether as Queen, wife, mother or woman." — New Orleans Times-Democrat KING EDWARD VII.'S FIRST ACT OF GOVERNMENT: HIS MAJESTY SUB- SCRIBING THE OATH FOR THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 1, Kino Edward VIL t. Empress Frederick. 3, Princess Christian or Schleswig-Holstein. 4» Duchsbs or Argtlu 6, Duke or Cojusavqut, 6, Princkss Henrt or Battenbero. 7, Obrmajt Emperor, 8, Dun or YOBX. 0, Prince Henrt or Prussia. 10, Prince Albert or Schliswio-Holstein. ll« Grand Duks of Hessb. la, Pbinoe Arthttr or Connaugbt. 18, Dukr or 6AXE-Ck)BnRG-GoTHA. li, Prince Alexander or BATTEKBEBfr 15, pRurcE Maurice or Battenbero. 16, Prince Leopold or Battenbero. 17, Duchess or Firs. 18, PBnraoBt YiOTOBiA or Wales. 19, Princess Oharles of Denmark. 20. Princess Aribert or Anhalt. 21, Prinous Yvy TOaiA or SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. 23, PrINCESS ALIGA OV AIAANT. 23, PRINCESS LOUIB OF BATTENBERO. Si, PB0- CB88 HSNRT or PRUSSIA. THE IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 447 V . "The English government has been harshly criticised from various quarters, but for the Queen herself there has beien nothing but expres- sions of kindness, and when she celebrated a few years ago the fiftieth anniversary of her coronation her subjects from all over her vast domain, vied with one another in paying affectionate tribute to their Queen.^r— Bichmond (Va.) Dispatch. "Queen Victoria, either from lack of initiative or from good sense, was satisfied to reign and did not altempt to govern. Without obstruc- tion from the throne, therefore, under the leadership of men that Great Britain itself raised up, British liberty has still further 'broadened grandly down from precedent to precedent.' *' — Des Moines Leader. "Queen Victoria constantly kept near her people. She never sought the release from responsibility that might have been secured by delegat- ing certain powers to others. She assumed and discharged all the obli^ gations of queenship, and her reign has been characterized by a loyalty to and a love for her subjects that have never been surpassed in mon- archical rule." — Kansas City Journal. CHAPTER XVlll. THE PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. Charaeterlgtlcs of llie Queen— Her Lofe for Anlmab—Her DomesUe Hmblto—FtadneiB fer Ovtdoor Ufe— She Poeseflsed a Remaitable Memory—Her Homeo— Boyalty Leftnui Gftrden* ing^EDgiand'g Rojal Hongehold— MQeh of the Qiieeii'§ Time Spent in Beodlnff— Her FATorite Booko— Wealth of the Qneen^Her Maoj DeeeendaatB. WHEN the women of Great Britain were subscribing their Jubilee gift to the Queen, a colony of Japanese women at Enightsbridge added their contributions with this characteristic wish: "Truly she must be a great *Lady King'; may she live on an unshaken throne yet another fifty years, and after that the perpetual bliss!'* When one pauses to study the personal character of the Queen, and the attributes which made her beloved at home and revered abroad, they are to be summed up in one simple phrase — she was a good woman. Not faultless, certainly; the charming wilfulness of the child had a survival in maturer age. Strong and passionate in her attachments, the Queen could be, in her young days, quick and hasty even with those whom she loved best; but shallowness was no part of her nature, neither did she harbor resentment. Absolute truthfulness and sincerity were the qualities which dominated her character, and also gratitude towards those who served her faithfully, be they great Ministers of State or humble servants. It was a part of the nobleness of her dispo- sition that she did not assume that she had a right to special attention because of her high position. One frequently meets in her diaries with expressions of pleasure at kindness shown to her when visiting at the houses of her subjects, as though it were something unmerited. Among the many touching incidents of her gratitude to those who had been her faithful friends was the visit paid by her to Sir John Biddulph when he lay dying at Abergeldie Mains. "You have been very kind to me. Your Majesty," said the dying man. "No,** replied the Queen, as she pressed his hand, "it is you who have been very kind to me/' An utter detestation of shams was another of Her Majesty's char- 448 PERSONAUTV of the QUEEM. 44d acteristics, shown by the fact that those who obtained her greatest confidence were honest, even to bluntness. She liked to get at the root and reality of things, and the time-server stood no chance before her keen scrutiny. Her fondness for her faithful Highlanders became almost a proverb, and she was never so happy as when talking with the old folks at Balmoral without form or ceremony, and much of her love for her Scottish home may be attributed to the fact that there she , could throw off the restraints of royalty more thoroughly than in any other place. She was an exemplary landowner, and erected schools, model cottages, established a free library, and provided a trained sick nurse for the tenants at Balmoral. To her cottagers at Osborne she was also ever the friend in time of need; and when she erected alms- houses on her estate for the use of poor old women, she retained one tiny room for herself, thus, as it were, becoming an alms- woman herself and keeping her poorer neighbors company. In matters of religion the Queen showed herself singularly free from prejudice. At Balmoral she always worshiped according to the simple style of the Scottish Church and partook of its rites in communion, while she chose for her chief spiritual guides Dr. Norman Macleod and Principal TuUoch. In England the service in her private chapels was the simplest form of the Episcopalian Church, and her close friendship with Dean Stanley would point to the fact that she inclined to the broader school of thought, and thought more of deeds than of creeds. She ever set a good example in Sabbath observance; and many years ago, when it came to her knowledge that tradespeople were employed to bring provisions to Buckingham Palace on Sunday morning, she at once ordered that no eatables were to be brought into the Palace on Sunday. The Queen was fond of quoting the saying of Schopenhauei", "If it were not for the honest faces of dogs, we should forget the very exist- ence of sincerity;" and from her childhood she always had dogs about her. Her earliest favorite, "Dash," a black-and-tan spaniel, was her constant companion when, as the Princess Victoria, she took her morn- ing walk in Kensington Oardens, and his joyous bark was the first welcome she received on her return to Buckingham Palace from her coronation. "Looty," a lovely silken, long-haired dog brought by a British oflScer from China, was a later favorite. When the Summer Palace at Pekin was burning, this little dog was discovered curled up amongst soft shawls and rugs in one of the wardrobes, and the officer 450 PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. who rescued him and brought him to England as a present to the Queen gave him the significant name of "Looty." A picture of him by Mr. P. W. Reyl was exhibited in the Royal Academy many years ago. Her Majesty had a special fondness for collies, and among these faithful animals "Noble" and "Sharp" were for many years chief favorites, and always traveled with her to and from Balmoral. " *Noble,' " she writes in her diary, "is the most biddable dog I ever saw. He will hold a piece of cake in his mouth without eating it, until he may. If he thinks we are not pleased with him, he puts out his paws and begs in such an affectionate way." A beautiful collie named "Darnley II." was for many years Her Majesty's chief pet. He had a special "cottage" of his own, apart from the kennels of the other dogs. In their beautiful homes in the grounds of Windsor Castle were skyes, collies, pugs, and dachs, in great variety; but the Queen's par- ticular pride were her Italian "Spitzes," a breed of beautiful buff- colored dogs which she was the first to introduce into England. "Marco," with his lovely white coat and almost human intelligence, was another chief favorite with his royal mistress. Her Majesty in her younger days was one of the most accomplished horse-women of her time, and her ponies had an almost equal share of attention with her dogs. "Jessie" was her favorite riding mare for years, and carried her through many a Highland expedition; then there were two Shetland ponies, and "Flora" and "Alma," presented by King Victor Emmanuel, and a gray Arab, a present from the Thakore of Morvi. The royal mews at Windsor cover an extent of four acres and have accommodation for one hundred horses. Her harness-horses were nearly all of them gray, and those for the broughams were dark chestnut. But specially proud was the Queen of her twelve cream- colored horses, with long, silky tails nearly touching the ground. Their ancestors took the girl Queen to her coronation, and the stock was always kept up for Her Majesty's use on State occasions. An amusing little favorite of the Queen was "Picco,'' which she used to drive in a pony carriage some years ago. He was a Sardinian pony, presented by the King of that country, and was only forty-four inches high. That charming naturalist, Frank Buckland, has given an amusing account of his attempts to sketch this fussy, nervous little fellow, who was highly indignant at having his measurements taken. The Queen was greatly diverted by the account of her pet's behavior, \' PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. 451' for 9he was fond of studying the characters of the animate about her, and liked them to have their pictures taken. Bushey Park was used as a kind of home of rest for the pet horses who were no longer fit for active service. There "Picco" was sent to end his days, and, as a useful lesson in humility, he had "Aldemey," a costermongter's rescued victim, given him for a companion. One day, when the Queen was driving in the Isle of Wight, she saw a costermonger savagely beating a beautiful white pony, and, stopping her carriage, she offered to buy the ill-used animal, in order to save him from his life of misery. She gave him the name of ^^Alderney," and promoted him to a life of ease in Bushey Park, where he doubtless entertained his aristocratic friend "Picco" with the doings of costerland. The Queen's love for the brute creation did not limit itself to those animals who had the good fortune to be her pets. She was a warm supporter of those societies which labor to ameliorate the sufferings of animals, and viewed the modern thirst for scientific discovery by means of vivisection with apprehension. Her Majesty was a great sympathizer with that branch of the Society's work which aimed at educating the children in the board schools to a sense of kindness to dumb animals by means of prizes given for essays upon the subject The Queen's anxiety to protect lambs from what she conceived to be premature killing resulted in rather an amusing fiasco some years ago. She had been reading gloomy articles in the newspapers about the decrease of English sheep, and she immediately attributed it to the excessive slaughter of very young lambs, and gave orders that no lamb was to be used in the royal household. The price of the meat at once fell to fourpence a pound, and it became necessary to explain to the Queen that the consumption of lamb was not the cause of the trouble, it was a question of breeding, and she then withdrew her mandate. This little incident is but one of many which serve to show her anxiety to promote the public good by her example. Many years ago, before county councils existed for the supervision of public amusements, the Queen made her influence felt in Birmingham. At a ffete in Aston Park a woman who had been forced to walk on a rotten tight-rope was dashed to pieces in a shocking manner. Such was the callousness of the committee that they permitted the festivities to proceed in spite of the dreadful occurrence. A few days later the Mayor of Birmingham was the astonished recipient of a letter from the Queen's Secretary, to 452 PERSONAUTY OF THE QUEEH. this effect: "Her Majesty cannot refrain from making known her personal feelings of horror that one of her subjects — ^a female — should have been sacrificed to the gratification of the demoralizing taste^ unfor- tunately prevalent, for exhibitions attended with the greatest danger to the performers. If any proof were wanting that such exhibitions are demoralizing, it would be found in the decision arrived at to con- tinue the festivities, the hilarity, and the sports of the occasion after an event so melancholy. The Queen trusts that the Mayor, in common with the townspeople of Birmingham, will use his infiuence to prevent in future the degradation by such exhibitions of the park which she and the beloved Prince Ck)n8ort opened for the rational recreation of the people." In the early days of railway traveling the Queen, who, with char- acteristic fearlessness, had been one of the first to trust to the "steam demon," was very active in bringing pressure to bear upon the railway companies to induce them to take greater precaution for the protection of passengers. It was she who, in conjunction with the Prince CJonsort, put an end in England to the barbarous custom of dueling. To-day, now that legislation has become so much more humanitarian in its scope than it was forty or fifty years ago, one is apt to lose sight of the immense infiuence of royal example. In the good old days the chief restraint on social customs was fashion. As was the Court, so were the people. Probably no English monarch did more for the purification of society and for the elevation of a simple domestic life than Victoria. If great ladies to-day prefer to spend their leisure hours in the support of pet philanthropies instead of the excitement of lotteries, was it not the Queen who set the vogue by associating her great name with schemes of beneficence? She was a visitor in the wards of England's hospitals long before ladies of birth and social position took up such work to any extent. That philanthropy is fash- ionable in London to-day, is due to influence coming from the throne and permeating all classes of society. All the Queen's daughters, and indeed daughters-in-law also, are women who delight in good works; and although they owe much of their impetus in that direction to the Prince Consort, it was the Queen who gave her children such an admir- able father. Her Majesty chose her husband for his good qualities, and nothing but her sanction and support made it possible for him to carry through his schemes. The nation was at one time barely respectful to PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. . 453 \ ' • ' . him, and did not awaken to a full appreciation of his mejits until it was too late. But for the Queen, Prince Albert might have occupied no better a position in the country than did the insignificant husband of Queen Anne. Another of Her Majesty's characteristics which influenced the national life of her own sex was the Queen's love of fresh air and out- door exercise. There is a connection between the sorereign taking her breakfast in a tent on the lawn and spending many hours of each day driving, whatever the weather may be, and the fine, healthy, well- developed girl of the period swinging her tennis racket, playing hockey, and boating and cycling. When the Queen was young such things were not, and the mammas of that time were probably shocked when they first heard, fifty and more years ago, of Her Majesty going deer-stalking with her husband for nine hours at a stretch, undertaking perilous , mountain expeditions, and walking about in the wilds of Balmoral with a hood drawn over her bonnet to protect her face from the rain. She was fond, too, of taking an early walk before breakfast; and on one occasion, when paying a visit to Blair Athole, she set out alone early one morning before any one was about, and wandered so far — be^iled by the fresh autumn air — that she lost her way, and was obliged to appeal to some reapers whom she saw working in a field to show her^ the way back. She always encouraged her daughters to take plenty of outdoor exercise, and they were expert skaters at a time when the pastime was an uncommon one for ladies. Princess Alice was a par- ticularly graceful skater, and after her marriage found that she was nearly the only lady in Darmstadt who could skate. The Queen gave her countenance to ladies riding the tricycle at a very early stage of the introduction of that machine. It was while taking her favorite drive along the Newport Boad in the Isle of Wight that she for the first time saw a lady riding a tricycle, and she was so much pleased that she ordered two machines to be sent to Osborne for some of her ladies to learn to ride upon. When the more expeditious bicycle came into use. Her Majesty looked askance for a time at ladies using it; but eventually she took the greatest delight in watching the merry cycling parties of princesses which started daily from Balmoral in the autumn, and she enjoyed many of her hearty laughs at those who were in the learner's stage, and had not mastered the mystery of maintaining the balance. That latest innovation in the way of vehicles 454 .PERSONAUTY OF THE QUEEN. —the motor-car — ^was regarded by the Queen with special interest, for when she was a girl there was an effort made to introduce coaches run by steam on to the roads, but the public did not take to the idea of these horseless carriages, and so they dropped out of existence, and ^*Jarvey" won the day. On at least one occasion Her Majesty rode in one: it was when she was about twelve years of age. With her mother, the Duchess of Kent, she had been to visit His Majesty King George IV. at the Royal Lodge, and they made the return journey from Windsor to London in a steam coach. In her attitude to modern inventions the Queen showed herself ready to accept new ideas, but it is said that she did not take to the electric light, and would not have it introduced into the royal palaces. At Balmoral she had the rooms lighted by candles, and burned wood fires, as she found this old-fashioned style cosier, and it reminded her of her young days. The Queen first adopted gas in 1854, when it was used to b'ght the new ball-room at Buckingham Palace on the occasion of the first visit of Napoleon and the Empress Eugenie to this country. The ceiling of the room was decorated in various colors to enable Her Majesty to form an idea of the effect of the new illuminant. She and the Prince Consort were so pleased with it that they shortly afterwards introduced it into Windsor CJastle. Probably the Queen thought that to witness one entire revolution in the way of domestic lighting was enough in a lifetime, and left the adoption of the electric light to younger people. The early British custom of erecting cairns, or heaps of stones, to commemorate events was one greatly in favor with the Queen. The first royal cairn was erected when she took possession of Balmoral, and the estate is now quite rich in these unique memorials, there being one to commemorate the Prince Consort's death and the marriages of each of her children. One might say that Her Majesty had a passion for having memorials of her domestic joys and sorrows, and she was most punctilious in the observance of anniversaries. She kept her own birth- day, and had a birthday cake like other people, and was keenly appre- ciative of the presents which were sent to her by every member of her family, even to the youngest branches. The Prince Consort's birthday was also observed, and his health drunk in silence. After her great bereavement her mind naturally dwelt much on death observances, and she herself drew up a complete code of direc- PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN, 465 tions for the arrangement of royal funerals and layings out. Different shrouds ai'e directed to be used for the male and female members of the family^ also for the married and unmarried; and female member^ of the royal family abroad are to be represented by one of their own sex. When the Duchess of Cambridge died in 1889, the Queen insisted that the funeral should be in semi-State, although the aged Duchess had herself desired to be buried quite privately. She was one of the few left who had known the Queen in the heyday of her youth and had really loved and cared for her, and Her Majesty was determined that her much-revered aunt should be buried with the observances due to her high birth as well as to her excellent character. The apartments used by deceased royalties in the Queen's palaces and houses were kept locked up. Those of Princess Charlotte at Claremont were preserved as she left them for more than seventy years. Prince Albert's private rooms at Windsor, Osborne, and Balmoral, and the Duchess of Kent's at Frogmore, also remained undisturbed during the Queen's life, and she testified her special esteem for John Brown by directing that the rooms which he used at Windsor Castle are to be kept sacred to his memory. Her Majesty had a great objection to embalming, and pro- hibited it with regard to royal persons, unless the circumstances were very exceptional. After the sad death of the Prince Imperial at the hands of the Zulus, and the impossibility there was of preserving his body for the Empress to take a last look at it, the Queen so far relaxed her regulations as to permit the various accessories for embalming being taken out when one of the royal family undertook foreign service. The wisdom of this arrangement was sadly seen in the case of Prince Henry of Battenberg. Her Majesty advocated absolute retirement for a time in the case of bereaved people, and the most lugubrious signs of outward mourning. It would seem, alsoy that she did not favor the remarriage of widows, judging from the significant fact that not one of the royal widows, be she young or be she middle-aged, was provided with a second husband. In the case of widowers Her Majesty's strictures were not so severe. She instituted several changes with regard to royal weddings. She herself set the example of being married in the morning, royal mar- riages having formerly been celebrated in the evening. It was not customary in former reigns for royalties to retire for a honeymoon; His Majesty King George III. remained at St James' and held levees 456 PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. immediately after his marriage. The Queen and Prince Alba*t had a brief honeymoon of two days at Windsor; then the Duchess of Kent and all the Court came flocking down to escort the royal pair back to a round of functions and festivities in London. Even that very young bride the Princess Royal had^ like her mother, only two days of absolute retire- ment. Since that the royal honeymoons have been gradually increasing in length, and the latest bride, Princess Maud, had a whole week of' seclusion, and then it was only broken in upon by a visit from her mothei* and sister. The custom of brides mingling myrtle with their orange blossoms was a fashion introduced by the Queen. In matters of Court etiquette Her Majesty was punctilious to a degree, and her memory for pedigrees, as for faces, was unrivalled. A story is told by a Court lady that a question arose at the royal table between herself and Lord Beaconsfield as to the genealogy of some obscure Italian duke who had suddenly come into notice. No one could tell who he was. "There is one person who could give the information," said Lord Beaconsfield, "and that is the Queen." He took the first opportunity of asking the question. "The Duca di T^ replied Her Majesty. "Oh yes, I remember perfectly," and she forthwith gave a full history of his family. Prime Ministers of modem times sometime@i found the Queen's remarkable memory a little embarrassing, as in discussion on political questions she would confront them with the views of Peel or Palmerston, or with the advice given her by Lord Melbourne in the first year of her reign; and it is reported that Lord Salisbury was once driven to delicately hint that there was a difference between the state of affairs in '37 and '87. Her Majesty was always very strict with regard to regulations for Court dress. All ladies, of whatever age, were required to appear in bodices with low necks and short sleeves. Plumes had to be worn standing erect from the back of the bead; no modification was per- mitted. When a lady who formerly reigned as a society beauty and afterwards was a theatrical star was to be presented, she arranged her Court head-dress in quite an artistic manner, pinning down the feathers upon her lovely hair in a most becoming manner. All went well until she passed before the Court functionary preparatory to making the entree; then she was ordered to remove the pins, as no lady was permitted to enter the presence except with her plumes erecti It had always been the practice to forbid the attendance at draw- PERSONALIT}^ OF THE QUEEN. 457 ing-rooms of ladies divorced, even though it was for no fault of their own; but the Queen, with her admirable sense of justice, came to the conclusion that this was scarcely fair, and decided that a lady of blame- less life ought not to be excluded from Court by reason of her husband's misdeeds. The matter was brought before the Cabinet some years ago, but allowed to drop without its being decided. The question was revived in 1889, and it was arranged that ladies debarred by divorce might make special application for admission to Court to the Queen herself, who decided on the merit of each case, after having had the report of the trial laid before her. There is a record of one lady who had obtained divorces from two husbands in succession gaining the Queen's permission to be presented on her third marriage. To one so fond of outdoor life and the beauties of nature as was Her Majesty, flowers were naturally a special delight, and she preferred to see them growing rather than when used for indoor decoration. In the grounds at Osborne there was a flower-bed specially planted for the Queen's pleasure with pinks and carnations, as she was very fond of these old-fashioned flowers, and frequently took tea on a spot near to the bed. During her drives from Osborne to Newport she had noticed the lovely gardens and houses belonging to Mr. Nunn, the famous manufacturer of the lace called by his name, and one day expressed a wish to see over them. Ever afterwards a basket of Mr. Nunn's choicest blooms was sent daily to the Queen when she was at Osborne, and the gift gave her the greatest pleasure. At the time of the Jubilee a loyal gentleman suggested the wearing of the Queen's favorite flower as a badge, and wrote to Sir Henry Ponsonby to inquire what it was. Her Majesty replied that in summer she preferred the rose to any other flower. Probably it is the sweet and delicate odor of the national flower as well as its beauty which pleased the Queen, as she greatly disliked strong perfumes. Speaking of scents, one is reminded that Her Majesty had such a dislike to the smell of cigars and tobacco that smoking was for many years prohibited in Windsor Castle, a restriction in which the Prince Consort fully concurred. Cards requesting that gentlemen would not smoke were neatly framed and hung in the rooms of the lords-in- waiting and equerries of the royal suite, and the servants and workpeople were forbidden to smoke inside the Castle. In later years no such rigid restriction existed, which is attributed to the influence of John Brown; u 458 PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. ^ho liked his pipe, and, being as canny as he was faithful, persuaded the Queen a little tobacco smoke was ^'no bad thing to have about a hoose/* A notable figure in the Queen's married life was that trusted friend and adviser, Baron Stockmar, who for seventeen years moved quietly in the background of the Court. He was an army physician who became attached to the suite of Prince Leopold, the Queen's uncle, and was with him at Claremont when his young wife, the Princess Charlotte, died. Later on he accompanied Prince Leopold when he became King of Belgium. Upon the Queen's accession. Uncle Leopold despatched the trusted Stockmar to England to watch over the welfare of his niece. It was not, however, until after the Queen's marriage that he became a permanent figure in her household. What "the Duke" was to the nation, "the Baron" became to the Court, and the wags dubbed him the "Old Original." He was a man of sterling qualities; upright, sagacious, with a vast amount of knowledge of the world, and was equally useful beside a sick-bed or at a writing-table. In the royal nursery he was a perfect oracle, and is reported to have said, "The nursery gives me more trouble than the government of a kingdom would do." Under his judicious management the delicate little Princess Boyal became so fat and well that he was able to write of her, "She is as round as a barrel," and the Queen said in one of her letters, "Pussy's cheeks are on the point of bursting." The queer old German Baron was a kind of a fairy godfather to the little folks; it was to his room they ran with their latest toy, or when they wanted a story. The Princess Royal, however, was his favorite, her smart wit delighting him vastly. The Baron was, as might be expected, a privileged person. He was permitted to sit at Her Majesty's dinner table in trousers, while other old gentlemen shivered in "shorts." Immediately the meal was over he would be seen walking off to his own room without ceremony. He never sacrificed his comfort to etiquette. When the spring came, he suddenly disappeared, without any adieux; then would follow letters of regret from his royal master and mistress, and, after spending & few months with his wife and family in his native Coburg, the Baron would return to Windsor as mysteriously as he had disappeared, and resume his rdle of chief adviser and general referee. Balmoral, the Queen's Highland home, which was established at the pleasure of her husband. Prince Albert, was always the Queen's favorite PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. ^59^ residence, and it was there that her pleasures were given full rein. Among the Scotch hills and the Scotch people the Queen was a woman, and she frequently met her farmer neighbors, stopping at the road crossing or wherever they chanced to pass to give a word of aiivice or encouragement. It was at Balmoral that Her Majesty's fondness for domestic animals, particularly cows, was indulged. She encouraged the breeding of fine cattle throughout the neighborhood, and herself kept a sleek herd, to each member of which she had given a name. At Osborne House, the Isle of Wight, where the Queen's last illness occurred, are located the gardens in which the Prince Consort, the Queen and all their children were in former years much interested. The Prince Consort was very fond of gardening and liked particularly to get out with a hoe and trowel and do his own digging. He arranged the gardens at Osborne House so that each of his children should have his or her own garden, in which every year of their childhood some- thing must be grown. The Queen herself was fond of the gardens and proud of her chil- dren's efforts, which she used often to superintend. One day, so the story runs, she was w&tching her eldest daughter among her flowers. The Princess wore a new pair of gloves, and when the Queen noticed these shfe remarked: "When I was a child I always did my gardening in old gloves." To this the Princess replied promptly: "Yes, but you were not born Princess Royal of England," Another time when the children were busily engaged in digging turnips for the royal table someone discovered a worm in the root of the largest and finest of the basketful. There was immediately a discussion as to whether that turnip should not be thrown out It was the Princess Alice, the youngest and favorite of them all, who settled the question by gravely remarking: "Oh, let it pass; it is such a beauty and mamma will be none the wiser when she has eaten it." At Windsor Castle, where much of the Queen's time was perforce spent, she never felt at home; indeed she was not at all familiar with the great pile, and it is doubtful if she ever made a tour of inspection of the entire premises. More, it is safe to say that no member of the royal family since the death of the Prince Consort has been familiar with the palace, and any one of them might easily get lost in its endless corridors. The building contains more than seven hundred separate 4fJ(X PER^ONAUfy OF ttiE QUEEM. apartments and the inventory of its furnishings fills sixty large volumes. The only two people to whom the great mansion is at all f£miiliar are Lford Lome, the present governor and constable, and Inspector Collman, and to them it is a life work. The royal household is as much of an institution in England as is the royal family^ and Parliament grants annually some million or more dollars to pay the salaries of its members. Although in former days the Court of England was as lavishly appointed as any in Europe, and although to-day it is not lacking in richness, the various offices of the household are far less sought after than they formerly were, and, indeed, a footman with his living to earn might better enter the service of a wealthy citizen than that of the Crown. The Queen had fifteen footmen and one sergeant footman, whose salary was f650 a year. Formerly the sergeant footmen, or one of his six senior footmen, was often promoted to the position of page of the presence, or of a Queen's messenger, either of which positions was worth f 1,500 or f2,000. This practice has gone the way of most of the perquisites and the office of royal footman is no longer sought after as it used to be. Next to the Sovereign's footman, the State trumpeters are the most popular and observed of functionaries. There are eight of them under a sergeant, and they are part of the State band, which is distinct from His Majesty's band and is only called into service upon State occasions. The uniform of these musicians is gorgeous, and is taid to cost f600, but, of course, is only worn upon rare occasions and may thus be kept for many years. The salary of the sergeant is |500 a year and of the other musicians f200, although there are fees whenever they appear in public. A great ways up the social and ceremonial ladder are the pursuivants, heralds and kings at arms. These functionaries are of both popular and historic interest. Their costumes, which appear only upon occasions of State, are gorgeous, old-fashioned and old. They are of the greatest importance, these officers who officiate at the reading of war and peace declarations at coronation announcements, and whose solemn announcements are made over the graves of the illustrious dead. The heralds must be ^^gentlemen skilled in the ancient and modem languages, good historians and conversant in the genealogies of the nobility and gentry." It is the duty of the heralds to grant coats of arms and supporters to the same to such as are authorized to bear them. When no armorial Person ALttY of the qVeen. 46i devices belong to the persons applying for the grant the heralds inVent the same and emblazon them in a manner in keeping with the house which is to bear them. For this work the heralds receive more liberal fees than fall to the majority of the royal household. The pursuivants, heralds and kings at arms are under the earl marshal of England and are now created by him. In former days, when the kings at arms were more important functionaries than they now are> thjey wei*e crowned with much cer'emony by the King himself. The present ceremony of enlistment, as it were, consists of the swearing in of the new officer by the earl marshal. Wine is poured from a golden cup, the title is pro- nounced and the king at arms is invested with a tabret of the royal arms, richly embroidered upon velvet, a collar of S^ with two port- cullises of silver-gilt, a gold chain with a badge of office. The earl marshal then places upon his head thc^ crown of a king at arms, which formerly resembled a ducal coronet, but since the restoration has been adorned with oak leaves and circumscribed according to the old custom with the words ^^Miserere Mei Deus Secundum Magnum Misericordiam Tuam.'' There are three of these officers, the king at arms of England, the king of the province south of Trent and the king of the northern provinces. The king at arms of England wears a mantle of crimson satin as an officer of the order and carries when in the presence of the Soveceign a scepter with the royal arms upon the top. The heralds go through a similar ceremony upon entering office, except that in their case the crowning is omitted. They are all military and civil officers and take their oath on both the Bible and the sword. The office of earl marshal is one of the highest and oldest of the household. He is the eighth great officer of State and is the only earl who bears his title by virtue of his office. The lord steward is another of the Sovereign's high functionaries. As an emblem of his office he carries a white wand, which on State occasions^ when the King is not present, is borne by a footman who walks bareheaded before the lord steward. The steward takes this symbol of power directly from the King and has no other formal grant of office. Upon the death of the reigning monarch the lord steward breaks his wand over the royal bier and his functions are at an end and all the officers of the royal household discharged. The royal household is, at the death of any sov- ereign, in a chaotic state resulting from the performance of this cere- 4ft8 PERSONALITY OF THE QUMtJ. mony. The organization of thfe household is one of the first duties of a new ruler. One of the picturesque features of the court of Queen Victoria was the presence upon all occasions of her two bodyguards, the one com- posed of pensioned colonels and majors with distinguished serrice i^ords, who are known as the ^^gentlemen at arms/' and the other made up of noncommissioned officers and known as the "yeomen of the guard." The yeomen of the guard are popularly called "beefeaters." A yeoman officer and his men act as guard and usher in the great chamber on levee days and drawing-room days, their office being to keep an open passage for the guests and to usher distinguished guests to the presence chamber. The usher stands at the head of the room leading to the presence chamber, with his guard on either side of the door. When persons of certain rank approach, one of the guards calls "Yeoman usher," to notify his captain of the approach. The usher answers by calling "Stand by," and the passage is made clear. The captain of the yeoman is always a person of rank, a change being made with each administration. His salary is f 5,000. He is an ex-officio member of the privy council, wears, like other officers of the corps, a military uniform and carries an ebony baton tipped with gold. His lieutenant receives a salary of f2,600 and carries a silver-tipped baton. The salary of the ensign is f 750, and he carries a baton similar to that of the lieutenant. There are also four corporals, who command in the absence of their superiors. One of them sleeps at St. James' palace to command the yeomen on duty, a thing which no other officer of the corps does, and having in this way a delegated authority which he exercises in the absence of his superior officer. When the Queen came to the throne only three members of the guard were old soldiers, but it was her pleasure to thus distinguish.the old warriors, and the guard now contains more than forty who have served in the army with distinction, and at no period has the guard had a higher social standing. One of the most peculiar offices in the household is that known for eighty years as the Queen's champion. It is an hereditary office, and is now held by F. 8. Dymoke, who will have his first opportunity of performing this duty at the coronation of King Edward VII. The champion of England, as is his official title, appears but once during the reign of a monarch, and that at his coronation. While the ]« Obowh Princess of Roumania. 2, Gband Duchess or Hesse. 8, Hebbditabt Prikgbss or HoHKnx>HE- liAvasHBUBG. 4. Pbincess Beatiucb or Saxe-Cobitro-Gotha. 5, Princess BIaboaret or Oonkauqht, tt Pboi- CE88 Patricia or CoiniAnoHT. 7, German Crown Prince. 8, Princb Eitel Fritz or Prussia. 9, Pbibgb Oboab OF PBuniA. 10, Princb Edward or York. 11. Prince George or York. 12, Prince Henry or York. 11^ Pbincb Cabox. or BouMANXA. 14, Prince Alexander or Greece. 15, Prince Gottfried of HoHENiiOHE*LAHaBntiRa. IflL PIU1K3I Fbxdrrxck William or Hesse. 17, Pruicb Maximilian or Hesse. 18, Prince Woltqang MAUBioa ov Bxass. 19L Pbincb Philip or Hesse. 20, Princess Henry XXX., of Bbuss. 21, Princess Victoria Louub ov Pbubbla. tt, Pbibcxss Victoria or York. 23, Lady Alexandra Durr. 24, Lady Maud Duff. 1, Grand Duchess Sebge or Bussia. 2, Empress or Russia. 8, Bkreditart Princess CHARiiOTTB of Saxb- MmnvGEN. 4, Duchess or Sparta. 5, Princess Frederick CHARiiSS or Hesse. 6, Princess Adolphus or Bghaumburo-Lippe. T, Princess Victoria Eugenie or Battenberg. 8, Orand Duchess Olqa or Bussia. ©.Grahd Duchess Tatiana or Russia. 10, Grand Duchess Marie or Bussia. il. Princess Euzabeth or Hisbi. 12. Princess Elizabeth or Roumania. 13, Princess Marie or Roumania. 14, Psincbss Ususna or Gbbece. PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. - 465 coronation banquet is in progress, a function which has always taken place in Westminster Hall| the champion enters on horseback and clad in steel armor with visor closed. Baising his visor, he challenges all comers to deny the title of the Sovereign, and offers, if necessary, to fight them on the spot. Of course, no one is found to take up the gauntlet which he tlirows down. A golden goblet filled with wine is then handed him and he drinks to the health of the monarch, after which he backs his horse from the royal presence, carrying with him the goblet as his perquisite. The office of champion is said to have. been established by William the Conqueror, who conferred it upon Robert De Marmion with the castle of Tamworth and the mansion of Scrivelsby. At the coronation of Richard II. the office was claimed by Sir John Dymoke, of Scrivelsby manor, and by Baldwin De Trevill of Tamworth Castle. The decision was that the office went with the manor and belonged to Sir John Dymoke, in whose family it has since remained. Should the present champion die his nearest male relative would inherit the honor. Her Majesty was a very wealthy woman. It is not likely that her exact capital will ever be known, as no royal wills are proved at Somerset House; but there are sources of information that suffice to show that she died possessed of a very large fortune. The annual allowance granted by Parliament to Her Majesty reached the total of 91,925,000. Most of this sum \\ras definitely por- tioned out for various requirements of the royal establishment. For example, 9862,500 was allotted to the expenses of the household, 9656,300 to salaries and retiring allowances, 966,000 to royal bounty, alms, and special service, and 9300,000 to the Queen's privy purse, leaving an unappropriated balance of 9^0,200. The Prince Consort enjoyed a separate allowance of 91^^0,000. In addition, each royal Prince received an independent grant as soon as he came of age, and each Princess was yoted an annual income of 920,000 on her marriage. The presence in the British Cabinet of the Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster — an office once held by John Bright — ^reminds one of a most valuable appurtenance of the Crown. The office is almost entirely a sinecure, and is used to find a place for a Minister whose presence is desired in the council, but for whom no definite portfolio can be found. The duchy itself, however, is a very real thing, for its revenue has increased from 9130,000 in 1866 to 9250,000 at the present day. This 4CC PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. handsome appendix to the regulation royal income is derived from meadsi forests, chases, and woods in thirteen counties. The duchj belonged originally to Baxon nobles who rose against the Norman conqueror, and whose estates paid the usual penalty of failure. If even this source of income had been cut off, Her Majesty might still have held a respectable place in the list of landed proprietors. She is said to have been a most capable business woman, and her private investments, in which she was aided by the advice of Lord Cross, Lord Sidney, and Sir Arnold White, have been almost uniformly successful. The famous Osborne estate, in the Isle of Wight, is said to be five times as valuable as when it was purchased. Some property bought in 1881 for 1390,000 is said to be of the present market value of f 850,000. The total extent of the Queen's private landed property — ^in addition, that is to say, to the duchy of Lancaster, and any other appurtenances of the Crown — has been figured to reach 37,372 acres, with a yearly income of from 9100,000 to f 125,000. In this area are included three very fine Scotch forests — Balmoral, Ballochbine, and Abergeldie. The extent of moor and forest land in the total acreage largely diminishes the financial productiveness of the whole. The Claremont estate was also a private possession of Her Majesty's. Her foreign assets included a magnificent villa at Baden and land and houses at Coburg. Bequests formed another important part of the Queen's wealth. From her husband she inherited a large part of his fortune of |3,000,000. Perhaps the most remarkable windfall that ever came to her was the result of the economies of a miser who died in 1852, and whose will allotted the sum of f 2,500,000 to "Her Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, begging Her Majesty's most gracious acceptance of the same, for her sole use and benefit and that of her heirs." It is reported that the whole of this magnificent bequest remains untouched, so that by this time it must indeed be of enormous value. It would be impossible to estimate the treasures Her Majesty received in the form of gifts on special occasions. The Jubilee in 1887 and the Diamond Jubilee ten years later brought her-^n immense number of presents from all parts of her Empire, as well as from other countries. The crown jewels at the Tower and most of the gold and sliver plate at Windsor are, of course, the property of the Crown, as distinct from the individual monarch, but it has been estimated that she possesses 92,500,000 worth of plate by private right. Her personal ^^•^••:^. ' PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. 467 collections included numerous and valuable items in the form of jewelry, pictures, statuary, bronzes, carvings, china, and lace& Queen Victoiria's shrewd judgment as an investor was matched by her excellent management of her household, which was by no means left entirely to the control of her officers. There was no stint in hospi- tality, but, at the same time, the most gorgeous entertainments given to foreign royalties never led to an appeal to Parliament for a special subvention. It remains to be seen whether this quality has descended to the next generation. Queen Victoria probably had the largest progeny at the time of her death of any monarch in modern times, and in civilized countries. In fact, no one can say with any certainty how many descendants she had. She had nine children, and at the time of her death had forty-two grandchildren. But how many great-grandchildren she had it would be difficult to say. The births and deaths in the family were of such frequent occurrence that a correct list is almost impossible. The Queen's first born is her namesake, Victoria, the Princess Royal, who was bom November 21, 1840, and married January 25, 1868, to Frederick, then the Crown Prince of Prussia, but later the Emperor of Germany, who died June 15, 1888. They had eight children, as follows: Winiam, the present Emperor of Germany, bom January 27, 1859, and married Pebraary 27, 1881, to Princess Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein. They have six sons and a daughter — Charlotte, bom July 24, 1860, and married February 13, 1878, to Hered, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen; Henry, bora August 14, 1862, and married May 24, 1888, to his cousin. Princess Irene of Hesse; Sigimund, bora September 15, 1864, and died within two years; Victoria, born April 12, 1866, and married November 19, 1890, to Prince Adolphe of Schaumberg-Lippe; Waldemar, bom Febru- ary 10, 1868, and died within twelve years; Sophia Dorothea, bora June 14, 1870, and married October 27, 1889, to the Duke of Sparta, and Mar- garet, born April 22, 1872, and married January 25, 1893, to Prince Frederick of Hesse-Cassel. The Queen's second child was Albert Edward, her heir and suc- cessor. He was bora November 9, 1841, and was married March 10, 1863, to the Princess Alexandra, eldest daughter of the King of Den- mark. • They have eight children, as follows: Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, bora January 8, 1864, and died January 14, 1892; George Frederick, Duke of York, bora June 3, 1865, and married July 6, 1893, to 468 ' PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. Princess Victoria May of Teck, and has the following children liEd ward, born June 23, 1804; Albert, born Decen^ber 14, 1895, and Victoria .Alexandra, bom April 25, 1897; Louise, bom Febraary 20, 1867, and married July 27, 1889, to the Duke of Fife, whose children are: Alexan- dra, born May 17, 1891, and Maud, bom April 3, 1893; Victoria, bora July 6, 1868; Maud, bom November 26, 1869, and married July 22, 1896, to Charles, second son of the Crown Prince of Denmark, and Alexander, born April 6, and died April 7, 1871. The Queen's third child was Alice Maud Mary, bom April 25, 1843, married July 1, 1862, to Louis IV., Grand Duke of Hesse. She died December 14, 1878, and her husband died March 13, 1892. They had seven children, as follows: Victoria Alberta, bom April 5, 1863, and married April 30, 1884, to Prince Louis of Battenberg; Elizabeth, bom November 1, 1864, and married June 15, 1884, to the Grand Duke Serge of Russia; Irene, bom July 11, 186^, and married May 24, 1888, to her cousin. Prince Henry of Prussia, brother of the Emperor William; Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, bom November 25, 1868, and mar- ried April 19, 1894, to Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg; Fred- erick, born October 7, 1870, and died within three years; Alix Victoria, bom June 6, 1872, and married November 26, 1894, to the Czar of Russia, whose children are Olga, born November 15, 1895, and Tatiana, bora June 4, 1897; and Mary, born May 24, 1874, and died within five years. The Queen's fourth child was Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke o^ Edin- burgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, bom August 6, 1844, and mar- ried January 23, 1874, to the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia. They have five children, as follows: Alfred, born October 15, 1874, and died Feb- ruary 6, 1899; Marie, born October 29, 1875, and married January 10, 1893, to Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Roumania, whose children are: Carol, born October 15, 1893, and a daughter; Victoria Melita, born November 25, 1876, and married April 19, 1894, to Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, who has issue; Alexandra, bom September 1, 1878, and married to Ernest, Prince of Hohenlohe^Langenburg, who has issue; and Beatrice, bora April 20, 1884. The Queen's fifth child was Helen Augusta Victoria, bom May, 25, 1846, and married, July 5, 1866, to Prince Frederick Christian of Schles- wig-Holstein, who has had five children, as follows: Christian V., bom April 14, 1867; Albert J., bom Febmary 26, 1869; Victoria K, bpm May 3, 1870; Louise A., bom August 12, 1872, and married, July 6, PERSONALITY OF THE QUEEN. 469 1891, to ^ ^^tf^rince Aribert of Anhalt; and Haroldi born May 12, and died May20.ertl876. Tb*^^.^ Queen's sixth child was lx>nise Caroline Alberta, born March IR ^9iSA&J and married March 21, 1871, to John, Marquess of Lome. The Queen's seventh child was Arthur, Duke of Ck)nnaught, bom May 1, 1850, and married March 13, 1879, to Princess Louise Margaret, daughter of the late Prince Frederick Charles of Russia* They have three children, as follows: Margaret, bom January 15, 1882; Arthur, bom January' 13, 1883; and Victoria Patricia, bom March 17, 1886. The Queen^s eighth child was Leopold, Duke of Albany, bom April 7, 1853, and married April 27, 1882, to Princess Helen, daughter of the late Prince George of Waldeck, and died March 28, 1884. They had two children, as follows: Alice Mary, bom Febraary 25, 1883, and Leopold Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, bom July 19, 1884. The Queen's ninth child was Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodora, bom April 14, 1857, and married July 23, 1885, to Prince Henry Maurice of ' Battenberg, who died of enteric fever while returning from the Ashantee war, January 20, 1896. They had four children, as follows: Alexander Albert, born November 23, 1886; Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena, bom October 24, 1887; Leopold Arthur Louis, born May 21, 1889, and Maurice Victor Donald, born October 3, 1891. T*^-* CHAPTER XIX. A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. iBddeBts At Conrtr— Hn Story's ReminiMeiieM— AmnsemeBts of the Boyal Childrai— Trmlned tobeHiisiclAii»— The (jneen's Doable— The Dawn of A firoAt Fatnre— A Child Reprores the Qneen— Cariyle's Bnuqne Hanaer^— The Shah of Penia— ^^Bxpedieiiey not in the DietloBttry''— A Rojal Puifter-AB Aerobotie Interlude— The l^iieeii and the Empresg Eugenie. rH AT Queen Victoria was ever a stickler for etiquette is well kuowiii and, according to one who knew whereof she wrote, in the days when Prince Albert was in his prime, society was queerly captious in collecting every bit of tattle that might tell to the disparagement of the ^^Germanized court/' as those who were not welcomed at it were pleased to call it. As eariy as 1841 some droll things were told about Her Majesty's coldness toward some of the court ladies thrust upon her against her will, but the probability is that as in Prince Albert's day the etiquette of the court was extremely severe, some of the young ladies in attendance had occasionally to be reminded of their position. They were expected to stand always when the Queen or Prince was in the room, and were not allowed to mix in the conversa- tion by word or laughter unless requested. A certain maid of honor, afterward a peeress, who had a charming voice, being one day requested to sit at the piano and play, declined, forgetting that the Queen's request was a command. The Queen insisted, but the maiden replied that she had a cold. "Well, then, you had better go to bed," said Her Majesty. "Oh, no, thank you," was the answer; "but, if you don't mind, I will sit down," and she did. On another occasion a maid of honor who had accompanied the Que^n to the opera and should have taken a seat at the back of the box, sat in the chair reserved for the Prince Consort. A glance warned her that she had committed a blunder, but being either obtuse or stubborn, she merely removed to the next chair in the front row intended for the royal family, where she not only remained but further ignored the fit- ness of things by applauding throughout the performance like the rest of the audience. Many of the old-time formalities, however, were abolished to a cer- 470 A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. ' 471 tain extent, aIth,ough the Prince Consort when out shooting would never take his gun from the hands of a gamekeeper, but required that it should be handed to him by the equerry; and the Queen was so strict that at the table she required all personal attendance done by the ladies and gentlemen of her court. It is related that when Victoria visited Louis Philippe in the Ch&teau d'Eau in 1843 the King, having heard that it was her habit to drink a glass of water before retiring for the night, ordered that one should be taken to her. It was presented by a servant,' but Her Majesty declined to take it. Seeing there was some- thing wrong, Louis Philippe whispered to one of his sons, who took the tray, whereupon the Queen took the glass graciously enough. During the Queen's visit to Paris in 1855, when Napoleon III. was in the glory of his magnificence, she was treated by her host not merely as a fellow- monarch^ but as a lady. Prom her earliest years Victoria had been a careful student aB well as a voluminous reader. The works of the old-time writers, as well as those who had passed away immediately before her coming into power, were familiar to her. In the time immediately preceding her were Wordsworth, Byron, Scott, Coleridge and Keats, and it is a matter of interest, in looking upon the literature »of her reign, to note that in spite of this extraordinary combination of talent there was a sufficiency of oxygen left to furnish a new and fresh breath of literature almost at the very threshold of Victoria's ascendency. The early part of her reign was peculiarly rich in genius. Without entering into detail, there may be called the. names of Carlyle, John Stuart Mill, Harriet Martineau, Charles Dickens, the Brownings, Qrote, whose history of Greece has been well called a monu- mental piece of work; Macaulay, no less a great parliamentary debater and statesman than historian; Tennyson, the poet laureate; Matthew Arnold, Thomas Hood, Thackeray, Ruskin, Charlotte Bronte, Lord Lytton, Disraeli, Charles Kingsley, Charles Lever, Wilkie Collins, Black, Braddon, Macdonald, Trollope, Darwin, Huxley, Richard Owen, Tyn- dall, Herbert Spencer, Max Mailer, George Henry Lewes and George filiot. Buckle, Kinglake, Justin McCarthy, Mrs. Oliphant, Froude, Lecky, Stanley, Swinburne, the Rossettis, Morris, Charles Reade, Mere- dith, Blackmore, Hardy and Rudyard Kipling. To have lived in a land where these writers worked was much, to have known one and all of them was much, tooj but to have been a 472 A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. central figure in their thoughts, one toward whom their tenderest senti- ments extended and to whom they owed loyal allegiance, whose smiles they courted and whose favor they desired, was infinitely more. From the hour of her marriage the Queen, with her husband, took frequent occasion to recognize, not alone in a perfunctory manner, but in her most gracious way, the men and women who added lustre to her reign and reflected credit upon her dominion by the exercise of their mentality. It is said that until Disraeli as Beaconsfield became Premier in 1868 the Queen had read ouly one of his novels. She read the others in the course of the three following months. Victoria liked Dickens' works, those of George Eliot very much, some of Wilkie Collins, while the description of Scotch scenery in Mr. Black's books was very dear to her. She read and reread Sir Walter Scott's novels. She inclined rather toward the serious reading of history and theology, and the libra- ries in her palaces are richly stored with books of chronicles and memoirs, although it was said that she never called for a French book, having a deep objection to French literature in all its branches. It has been remarked by those privileged to converse with her on theology or historical subjects that the Queen was thoroughly Protest- ant in her religion and that she kept up quite a sentimental feeling of sympathy with the Stuarts. Going one day into the library at Windsor Castle she discovered the librarian reading some strong Jacobite memoirs. "Oh, you need not put them away," she said, "you know I am a Jacobite myself.'' This does not quite tally with the story which Macaulay used to tell of the Queen's opinion of James II. During Macaulay's visit to Wind- sor the Queen said: "I have been reading your history, Mr. Macaulay, and I am afraid I can't say much for my ancestor, James II." "Your Majesty's predecessor, not ancestor," corrected Macaulay. When Victoria was nine years old, Sir Walter Scott, according to a record in the diary of the famous writer, dined with the Duchess of Kent, and by Prince Leopold was presented "to the little Princess Vic- toria and heir-apparent to the house, as things now stand." "This little lady," he adds, "is educated with care, and is watched so closely that no busy maid has a chance to whisper *You are heir of England.' I suspect if we could dissect the little heart we should find that some pigeon or other bird of the air had carried the matter. She 'A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. 473 is fair, like the royal £amily.'\ The fact is that neither at that time lior for years after did Victoria know anything of her preeminence, bnt was brought np with strict economy and regularity, being taught to restrain her expenditures within the limits of her income, even when that W9,8 but a child's pocket money. Victoria came by her father's side of ^ lavish and largely spending race, and, no doubt, on this account the discipline under which she had been trained became more severe." Mr. Douglas Story, the well-known English journalist and war cor- respondent, writes as follows of his personal reminiscences of the Queen: "One day in August twenty years ago I saw the Queen for the first time. It was in Edinburgh, and Her Majesty had come north to review the volunteer forces of Scotland. All Scotland had poured forth its citizen soldiers^ and in the fore part of the day the Queen's Park was checkered like a Highland tartan with its multi-colored bodies of troops. "Before the parade commenced, such a rain settled down as Edin- burgh has not known from that day to this. In an open carriage, pro- ' tected only with umbrella and mackintosh. Her Majesty sat while 25,000 men slipped past her in the mud. Marching was impossible. At parts of the route the volunteers were mid-thigh in water and the . long list of deaths from pneumonia and phthisis that followed exceeded those in many a hard fight. "But Queen Victoria faced it through — faced it with the memory of the fatal chill her husband caught in the same city nineteen years before. But there has been no other review, and, if my memory serves me rightly, she has never slept a night in the Scottish capital since. "The following day I was present at the great military review in Wimbledon Park, when the young Princes Albert, Victor and George returned from their tour around the world. The occasion was memor- able because on that day were more of the immediate descendants of the Queen gathered together than ever again met on one field. "My memory of the Queen at that time is of a little lady, very plainly dressed in black, who sat extremely upright in her carriage and bowed with a slow, sweeping inclination, vastly expressive of her dig- nity.* Behind her carriage, on the rumble, stood John Brown and the other Scotch gillie, kilted in the royal Stuart tartan — stern men, whose devotion to the Queen was as pure and spontaneous as the air of their native glens. 474 A CHAPTER' OF ANECDOTES. I 'Tears passed before I again saw Her Majesty, and then it was on a long country road near Balmoral. It was autumn, and as I stood on the fallen leaves by the wayside she smiled over to me and bowed — a gentle little lady sitting very low in her low-swung carriage, with the Princess Beatrice beside her, and a single attendant on horseback. She had aged greatly in the intervening fifteen years, and there was a pathetic wistfulness in her face I did not remember from the long ago. ''There in her Highland home she was woman rather than Queen — a good and kindly woman, who sent jellies from the castle to the frail old bodies in the cottages, and who still drove out occasionally to tea in a shepherd's hut or a gamekeeper's lodge. "Down in the village of Orathie was the little church she had built, and every Sunday the Balmoral party sat listening to the chaplains royal of Scotland — ^Principal Story, Dr. Cameron Lees, Dr. MacGregor, Dr. Norman Macleod. Many a curious sermon has royalty heard from those stout old upholders of the Scottish faith, and many an earnest discussion has Her Majesty waged over the luncheon table afterward. An Episcopalian in England, a member of the Church of Scotland in her northern kingdom, the Queen had her chaplains and respectful friends on both sides of the Tweed. "Once more I saw the Queen apart from her public appearance in London less than two years ago. It was at Windsor, and Her Majesty was to review the Honorable Artillery Company there. I had accom- panied a famous colonial minister to the park, and the Queen had inti- mated through Sir James Reid, the physician who attended at her dying bed, that she would like it if he would stand where she might greet him on entering her carriage. I was permitted to accompany the two gentlemen to a spot on the terrace near where the carriage was iftanding. "As we walked over. Sir James told how Her Majesty was very sen- sitive as to any but her immediate suite being present when she walked these latter days. She had grown so heavy of late years walking had become a pain to her, and she dreaded any publicity of her suffer- ing. "Arriving at our point of vantage we saw that a long gangway had been raised to the carriage to obviate the necessity of Her Majesty step- ping up or down. Quickly the door opened and the Queen appeared^ leaning on the arm of her Indian servant and on a thick ebony walking A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. 475 stick. Very slowly she crossed the distance to the carriage, and once seated turned to us and bowed her gracious greeting. "We stood for some minutes gazing after the carriage as it rolled away to the reviewing ground, and then the colonial premier at my elbow shook himself and said: " ^Reid, I would not change my position as a subject of that woman to be president of the proudest republic on earth.' "Last May I was enabled to cable from the Transvaal certain news of moment to Her Majesty. Months later, when I returned to England, I found a graceful little telegram of thanks from the Queen. To-day it hangs framed in my study in London, and I possess no prouder treasure. "It is difficult for an Englishman to write or to speak intelligibly of his feeling for the Queen who passed so gently away. Twice in my life I have been in the position where it was treason td sing ^Qod Save the Queen,^ and the most impressive incident of my career was the singing of the grand old anthem when Lord Roberts unfurled the Union Jack in Pretoria on June 5 last. There was not a dry eye among the released prisoners by my side, and many a bronzed and battered vet- eran brushed away a tear as the rude prayer rose from the kirk square. "Then, as at her death, we were thinking not of Queen Victoria's majesty and might, but of the frail little woman soothing the fretted beds at Netley, carrying fruit and jellies to the poor at Osborne and Balmoral, of the infinitely tender mother of nations. "The picture that clings most persistently to me is of a young girl Queen on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. Beneath, a regiment is leaving for Syria, and as it passes below the porch the girl bends, draws off her little satin shoe and casts it after the soldiers for luck. Sixty years later she lay dying, the most loved Queen of whom history has any record." One greater than Queen Victoria applied to himself the simile of the hen and her chickens. There is, therefore, no disrespect in thinking of that comparison in relation to the Queen as a mother. Her mother- hood was active, provident, self-sacrificing, efficient, affectionate and unalloyed by sentimental nonsense. So long as her children were under her care she never lost a child. The Queen's maternal spirit and example completely swayed the home of the late Princess Alice. Her mother was her model. One of the amusements in the hours of recrea- tion of the six daughters of the Princess Alice was to search through 476 A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. the files of the illustrated newspapers for traces of their grandmother's steps. It delighted them to find pictures of her with the chicks around her^ unveiling statues, opening people's palaces, recreation grounds, inaugurating exhibitions and great engineering enterprises. The Queen was accustomed to tell how glad she was that her children had the companionship of each other and speak of her own sad childhood. It was a solitary childhood. She longed to play with the children who played about in Kensington Gardens and on the sands of Margate and Ramsgate. Her half-sister, the Princess Feodore of Leiningen, was nearly twelve years older and was engaged to be mar- ried when the future sovereign was only eight. The only childish com- panion was Victoria Conroy, daughter of the Duchess of Kent's private secretary. But the German ladies who surrounded the Princess Vic- toria were jealous of Conroy's influence and checked as much as they could the expansion of childish instincts when the two youthful Vic- torias were together. The royal children were encouraged to get up allegorical tableaux vivanta — a favorite amusement of their ancestress, the Electress Sophia. The tree was imported for them into England. Children's balls were given at Buckingham Palace. The kindergarten system was adopted for the nursery, but excluded from the schoolroom. It is not well that study should be amusing. Hard mental drudgery gives shapeliness to the mind. Tutors and governesses were to exact obedience and to let no shortcoming pass unnoticed. In their efforts to establish strict discip- line they met with support from the Queen and Prince. The Prince was the high court of appeal. He began by appealing to the reason of the young offender. If a penitential spirit was shown there was forgive- ness and oblivion. If he was obdurate there was punishment, but not of a brutal kind. It was not easy to rear the Princess Royal. Prince Leopold was a weakling. The Princess Alice underwent a change that required watch- ing after scarlatina. The Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred had to be separately brought up. The younger brother did not like to think the elder was to be his future King. The Prince of Wales was sent to stay at the White Lodge, Richmond. Still they were an affectionate family, and in growing up they became more so. The Queen herself attended her sons when they had the measles. The Queen and Prince were accomplished musicians and wished A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES, 477 their children to be so. In the schoolroom they drudged to perfect themselves in the technique of musical instruments^ but at other times first-rate musicians were brought in to play, as if by chance, before them. They might or might not listen. If they were enthralled the performer was often asked to return. When, the Queen's children were young all the thrones of Europe were shaking, and there was great unrest in her empire. Louis Phil- ippe's family were exiles near Windsor. Strong as the Queen's confi- dence was in the love of her people, she had often cause for uneasiness. Her children were, so far as was possible, brought up to trust to them- selves. The cottage at Osborne was a technical school for gardening, handicrafts and cooking. Every day a dish was prepared there by one . of the Princesses that was to figure in the evening on the Queen's table. The Princess Louise is not only a distinguished sculptor, but has a genius for housewifery. Nothing pleases her more than to busy her- self with housekeeping cares. The Queen often went to the cottage to see how the work was getting on. Anecdotes without end are told regarding the late Queen. Some of the best are given below: A^ memorable visit was paid to the city by Her Majesty in 1844 for the purpose of opening the Boyal Exchange and unveiling the statue of the Duke of Wellington which stands in front of it. Great crowds of people assembled to witness the royal procession and special con- stables were sworn in to preserve order. These were given the great- coats of the police and the regular policemen were naturally thankful when the day turned out fine and the greatcoats became an infiiction rather than a benefit. At the appointed hour Lord Mayor Magnay rode forth in his great gilded state coach to meet the Queen. He was attired in the antique ^ state robes and his breast gleamed with fiashing jewels. Squires an(| knights, swordbearer and macebearer, the aldermen in their scarlet robes, the members of the common council in their robes of blue, fol- lowed in his train. Beneath his crimson robe he wore the court suit, with the usual dress-sword, and on his head was a Spanish hat laden with nodding plumes. Upon reaching Child's bank h^s lordship alighted from his carriage to mount the horse on which he was to ride back, this latter proceeding being a mark of respect to Her Majesty. Unluckily I 478 A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. at this moment the overweighted hat fell off and went splash into the mud. This was a bad commencement, but worse remained behind. Know- ing that it was dirty under foot his lordship had placed over his dia- mond-buckled shoes and silk stockings a pair of new jack boots. As the moment arrived when the Queen was approaching the Lord Mayor got off his horse in order to remove the muddy jack boots before present- ing the city sword to the Queen, but found himself unable to shift them^ and although several hands tugged with all their might the boots refused to budge. At last one of them was got off, but the other resisted all persuasion, and, as the Queen came nearer, the frantic Lord Mayor, perspiring under the red robe, implored his helpers to put the boot back again. This was as hard as the original feat of getting it off, but by some means the trick was managed just in the nick of time. The silk calves and shining shoe buckles were never seen by Her Majesty, for the Lord Mayor was compelled to go through the ceremony and the suc- ceeding banquet in the terrible jack boots which had caused him so much misery. During the Queen's residence in Scotland much annoyance was fre- quently caused by inquisitive tourists who thought it necessary to resort to every dodge to obtain a glimpse of Her Majesty. It is related that an American visitor once esteemed himself lucky in catching sight of a lady whom he considered to be the Queen, riding in a small trap, and with no attendants. Having mentioned the fact to some friends, they persuaded him that the Sovereign often drove about ill this manner and was specially delighted to be introduced to any American gentle- man, holding the affability of "Brother Sam'^ to be quite unparalleled in its ease and elegance. He kept a strict lookout for a few days and was at last overjoyed to catch sight once more of the little trap. "Her Majesty" alighted at a humble dwelling and went in. The courageous visitor immediately knocked at the door, and when the cottager opened it, presented her his card and asked that it might be respectfully presented to Her Majesty. Whereupon the housekeeper was about to call for help, thinking a luna- tic had paid an afternoon call. Between the broad accent of the States and the broad accent of the Highlands the conversation was conducted with diflflculty. But when the good woman discovered that the doctor's wife had been mistaken for the Queen she roundly threatened the ...:.!' iT iMB A CHAPTER OP ANECDOTES. 479 f I \ intruder with violence by the medium of a broomstick unless he went off about his business. He was never introduced! The tradition that "the Queen never smiles'' is old in England — ^as old as her reign. The hundreds of photographs of Her Majesty sold in all parts of the world invariably show the one expression, the heaviness of the face, accentuated by the pronounced droop of the long upper lip. But, nevertheless, the Queen does smile. A number of years ago Charles Knight, a photographer at Newport, Isle of Wight, secured a likeness of her which shows Her Majesty, not merely smiling, but broadly laughing. How did it happen that such a likeness was obtained? In this way: The Queen was visiting Newport. The Mayor of the city was presenting a verbose and fulsome speech, also a magnificent bouquet. He had carefully committed the speech to memory, but in his anxiety to make a favorable impression with his courtly manners, his pomp and splendor of royal velvet and fur-trimmed robe, medals, cocked hat and cable chains of gold he "lost his place." After some stammering and stuttering he suddenly shouted, "I've forgotten the rest," and stood gazing at the Queen like a stupid school- boy on visitors' day. Then Her Majesty laughed outright, and the flus- tered and heart-broken Mayor dropped the bouquet and fled. While the Queen was laughing, Knight, the photographer, took the picture. Great amusement was caused by the recital of an incident which occurred soon after Her Majesty's accession to the throne. A grand dinner party was being given at the Buckingham Palace. The probable husband the Queen might select was then a matter of much interest and speculation. Lord Melbourne, as Prime Minister, felt the matter to be one in which he was entitled to obtain information if possible. So he inquired of the Queen, as neatly as he could, whether there was any individual for whom she entertained a preference. Her Majesty was a little taken aback and inquired whether he put the question as a matter of state policy. If so she would endeavor to give him an answer. Lord Melbourne replied that he did, and that under no other circum- stances would he have ventured to intrude in so delicate a matter. "Then," said the Queen, "there is one person for whom I entertain a decided preference." "Yes?" said Lord Melbourne, expecting to hear a great secret. ''And that i&— that is," said the Queen, "the Duke of Wellington!" 480 A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. The venerable hero of Waterloo was past his seventieth year and the story Qsed to be retailed by Lord Melbourne at his own expense. The Queen went to the opera one night when Taglioni was the star of the evening. Two Indian gentlemen, Jahanger Nowrojee and Hirjee- bhoy, were present and record that the Queen in her box was dressed in white and looked as happy as a Queen could look, but what aston- ished them most was to hear that the great dancer received 150 guineas for every performance. One of them wrote: "Only think! One hundred and fifty guineas every night to be paid' in England to a woman for standing upon one leg, then to throw one leg straight out, twirl round three or four times with the leg thus extended, to curtsey so low as to nearly seat herself on the ground and to spring occasionally from one side of the stage to the other. All of which jump- ing about did not take on her part quite an hour, and to get more money for that every evening than six weavers in Spitalflelds who produce beautiful silk dresses could earn by working fourteen hours every day for twelve months.^^ Her Majesty was a great admirer of Taglioni and the Indian critic seems to have forgotten that the laws regulating the supply of weavers and great danseuses are not quite the same. One night the Queen and Prince Albert went to the Princess' Theater, then under the management of Charles Eean. They were received by Mr. Emden, the acting manager — ^a little round man. Open- ing onto the corridor, where the royal visitors had to pass, was a dress- ing-room, and three of the actresses — ^the late Miss Carlotta Leclercq and Mary Eeeley and Miss Agnes Robertson (Mrs. Boucicault) clam- bered onto a table to peep through. Mr. Emden, carrying two candles, was preceding the royal visitors, walking backwards up the steps, and in a state of great agitation. Thereupon the girls giggled loudly, and the horrified Emden was so overcome that he missed his footing, and incontinently sat down on the top step in the presence of the Queen, covered with confusion and candle grease. Her Majesty, following the reproachful eye of Emden, saw the three girls peeping over the fanlight, and, pointing them out to Prince Albert, leaned against the wall, laugh- ing long and loudly. There was very little formality in the Queen's household after one had passed the barriers. There is a story about a small girl who, with her father and mother, once had the honor of taking a meal with the A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES.' 481 Queen at Windsor. The small girl had been carefully taught by her nurse that it was impolite to take up bones in one^s fingers and gnaw them. During the meal the Queen took occasion — ^very daintily, to be sure — ^to nibble the wing of a chicken in that manner. The child's eyes grew round with reproach, and pointing ^ diminutive finger at her royal hostess, she exclaimed with great distinctness. ^Tiggy, piggy, piggy!" The feelings of the father and mother can be imagined, but the Queen's genuine amusement and kindly tact soon made matters right and she gently explained to the culprit that Queens could do what it was not proper for little girls to do. Shortly before Browning's death the Queen was present at an after- noon party given by Lady Augusta Stanley. Browning and Carlyle were among the guests. Indeed, the Queen had expressly desired that Browning and Carlyle should be presented to her and the little tea party was quietly arranged for that purpose. Carlyle, ther.e, as else- where, exhibited a sublime disregard for etiquette and appeared to be altogether unconscious of the customs which pertain in the royal pres- ence. After he was presented to the Queen he volunteered a torrent of remarks, and, without so much as "by your leave," flatly disagreed with a number of statements which Her Majesty made. The experience no doubt was a novel one for her. During a visit to the Victory at Portsmouth the Duchess and her daughter, who afterward became Queen Victoria, sat at one of the mess tables and announced their intention of having a "seaman's dinner." Accordingly, they and the ladies of the suite were served with beef and potatoes on wooden platters, and some grog to drink. The sailors were delighted and cheered vehemently. Many years afterward, when the Queen was cruising around the Cornish coast, she fancied she detected acme signs of uneasiness among the crew, and upon making inquiry learned that she was sitting on the "grog cupboard." Her Majesty immediately declared that she would only rise on condition that some grog was compounded for her, and this arrangement was carried out, the Queen taking a sip or two of the "inspiring liquor." Her Majesty, soon after her accession, paid a visit to the Boyal Academy, and commanded her ladies to attend her at Buckingham Palace at a certain hour. The Queen was ready at the appointed time, but one lady of the suite did not put in an appearance until ten minutes later. Taking out her watch, the Queen said: 482 A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. "I haye U?en waiting, my dear Lady , ten minutes for your arriyaL I trust such a circumstance may not occur again, as punctual- ity is of the utmost importance to me, and must be a ruling principle in my palace." The lady, somewhat confused by this reproof, could not, in the agitation of the moment, arrange her shawl to her satisfaction, and Her Majesty, observing that, very kindly assisted her, remarking: "We shall all understand our duties by-and-by." Of all Victoria's Ministers she liked Disraeli most and Gladstone least. Disraeli made her Empress of India and she made him Earl of ^eaconsfield. He flattered, Gladstone dictated. It is said that once Victoria objected to signing a bill. "But you must, madam," urged "the grand old man." "Must, sir? You forget, I am the Queen of England." "You are, madam," returned Gladstone, "and I am the people of England." She signed the bill. Her Majesty was a severe mother. She insisted upon her children conducting themselves with perfect propriety. Once in a parade Prin- cess Maud was disposed to flirt with a number of young cavaliers. The Queen frowned at it, but the Princess would do it. The climax came when she dropped her handkerchief over the carriage side and a dozen oflBicers at once galloped to restore it "Stop, you ofllcers!" cried the Queen. "Now, you get out and pick up that handkerchief yourself." Maud blushed furiously, but obeyed. On one occasion when the Queen was making a trip around the western coast the Mayor of a small town set out in a boat to present the address which had been voted by his corporation. In attempting to land on board the yacht he fell overboard in his agitation and was rescued in a very inglorious fashion, with the mayoral robes and the address in a condition of dampness that prevented the authorized pro- gramme from being carried out. There is a story that while the Queen was at her Highland home her sons went out walking and on their return asked a boy with a cart to give them a lift. "And who are you?" asked the boy of the first "I am the Prince of Wales." "And who is this one?" "That's Prince 'A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. ^ 48d Alfred/' "And the other?'' "Prince Arthur." "Oh, are they?" replied the incredulous driver. "Well, then, I'm the Shah of Persia." 80 scrupulous was the Queen in taking care to fully understand every document placed in her hand that Lord Melbourne was reported to have occasionally declared that he would rather have to deal with ten Kings than one Queen. Having submitted some act of government for the royal approval, he was proceeding to urge the expediency of the measure, when the Queen stopped him, observing, "I have been taught to judge between what is right and what is wrong, but expediency is a word I neither wish to hear nor to understand." After the Queen's accession, the Duchess of Northumberland, who had for some years shared with Baroness Lehzen the duties of royal governess, was commanded to an audience. It was represented to Her Majesty that, in consequence of her great change of position, she should receive the Duchess seated, and as a mark of special favor. The Queen reluctantly assented and sat down in the chair of state, but no sooner was the door thrown open and the Duchess announced than all recol- lection of regal dignity was lost. She rose from the chair, ran to meet the Duchess and threw her arms around her neck. As a little girl the Princess Victoria was very fond of haymaking. Every afternoon she would come out on the grass with her little rake, fork and cart and collect the hay, which she would carry a short dis- tance and then return to fill her cart again. Upon one occasion she grew rather tired during this process and threw down the rake when the cart was half loaded. Thereupon her governess desired her to proceed and her charge declined. "But you should have thought about getting tired before you began the last load, for you know we never leave anything unfinished." So the Princess was compelled to set to and finish the task she had undertaken. In after life the effects of such firm insistence is clearly evidenced in the Queen's character. The Queen, being anxious to baptize the Princess Royal with Jordan water, notified her desire to the Duke of Sussex. It so happened that the little girl of one of His Grace's physicians had been given a small bottle by the eastern traveler, Rae Wilson, and when she heard through her father of the Queen's desire she at once said she would like Her Majesty to have it. The small bottle of the Jordan water was accord- ingly made up in a parcel and given to the Duke for Her Majesty, who 484 'A CHAPTER OF ANECDOTES. warmly thanked the little girl. Jordan water has ever since been naed at the royal baptisms. In connection with the distribntion of the Crimean War medals, a story is told of an old lady who kept the Swiss Cottage on the Duke of Bedford's estate at Endsleigh. When Her Majesty was paying a visit to the Cottage, the old lady thought, "Now*s my chance," and plucking up heart she said, ^Tlease, Your Majesty, ma'am, I had a son, a faithful subject of Your Majesty, and he was killed in your wars out in the Crimea, and I wants his medal."' ^^And you shall have it," replied the Queen, with a soft voice and melting eye, as she took the old woman's hand. The friendly alliance entered into between France and England dur- ing the Crimean War was the occasion of an interchange of visits between the sovereigns. The Emperor Napoleon, with his lovely young Empress Eugenie, visited Windsor in April, 1855, and a few months later the Queen and Prince Albert returned the visit, taking the Prince of Wales and the Princess Boyal along with them. A series of brilliant entertainments took place in Paris, and the friendship between the Queen and the amiable and lovely Eugenie, which lasted until the end, was begun. Often one fancies that the two royal widows must have sadly talked together of those bright, happy times. The two children enjoyed their visit to Paris immensely, and the Prince of Wales con- ceived the brilliant idea that he and his sister might remain behind and continue the festivities after the departure of their parents. The Em- press made the usual reply which hostesses give to importunate juveniles — ^that their "papa and mamma would not be able to spare them,?' to which "Bertie" replied, "Oh, they can do without us; there are six more at home." CHAPTER XX. EDWARD VII.. KING AND EMPEROR. Sketch ttf the Oereer of the New King— DtArent Estfanetee of His Chaneter— His Edvea* tloii— TUt to Cttiede and the United Statee— TraTebon the Gontineat and in the Holy Land— Hie Harrlage— €(rand Master of the Free Masons— The Bnler of English Sodeti— His Sneeession to the Throne— Indent CereoMmies Bepeated— Fuiiament Benews ▲liegiaBee— London Giren a Glinip§e of Medietal Times-Cbrgeoos Prooessioas. ALBERT EDWARD, the eldest son, but second child, of Queen Victoria, and the present occupant of the throne of the British Empire, was born November 9, 1841, at Buckingham Palace, London. He was the Duke of Cornwall by inheritance, and was made by royal patent, within a few weeks, Prince of Wales also. His titles, by inheritance and patent, are too numerous to be mentioned, but among them are Duke of Rothesay, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Qotha, Prince of Saxony, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Dublin, Baron Renfrew and Lord of the Isles. His baptism, which took place January 25, 1842, in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, was an occasion of great splendor. At the font stood as sponsors the King of Prussia, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, repre- sented by the Duchess of Kent; the Duke of Cambridge, the young Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen's sister-in-law, represented by the Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Sophia, represented by the Princess Augusta of Cambridge, and Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg. The Prince was named Albert for his father, and Eidward for his grand- father, the Duke of Kent. Prince Albert received his first but by no means his least important training from Lady Lyttleton, Mrs. W. B. Gladstone's sister, who was the governess of all the royal children until the Prince was six years old. He was then intrusted to his first tutor, the Rev. Henry Mildred Birch. In 1848 he was taken on a visit to Ireland, where he was received with great enthusiasm, and October 30, 1849, he made his first ofBdal appearajicje in London. This was owing to the sickness of the Queen, who was taken with the chicken-pox. She was to have been present at the opening of the Coal Exchange, but sent the Prince and the Princess 48S 486 EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR. Boyal to represent her. In 1851, though only ten years old, he assisted at the opening of the world's fair in the Crystal Palace. The same yeto Mr. Birch retired from his position as tutor, and was succeeded by Frederick W. Qibbs, a barrister at law, who remained in the position until 1868. The Prince's first appearance in the House of Lords took place amid warlike preparations. It was the occasion of the answer to the Queen's message announcing the beginning of hostilities in the Oimea, when he was present with the Queen. In August, 1855, just before the con- clusion of the war, he and the Princess Royal, accompanied by their parents, paid a long and delightful visit to Paris. This was followed by an incognito walking tour through the west of England, in which the Prince was accompanied by Mr. Oibbs and Colonel Cavendish; and then he spent a short time in Germany, mostly at Koenigswinter on the Bhine. The Prince's religious training had been carefully attended to, and in April, 1858, he was duly confirmed as a member of the Church of England. He became eighteen years old November 9 of the following year, and was then capable of reigning, in case of the death of the Queen. The same year he was made a Colonel and received the Order of the Garter, Mr. Gibbs being succeeded by Colonel Bruce as his governor. From this time the Prince became a great traveler, generally Incog- nito as Baron Renfrew, inserting between his tours, however, a course of studies at Edinburg. In 1860 he underwent his first extensive voy- age, in which, with the Duke of Newcastle as cicerone, he visited Can- ada, arriving at St. John's, N. F., July 24, 1860, and crossing over to the United States at Niagara Falls September 20, just in time to witness the marvelous tight-rope walking of Blondin. The first place of importance in this country visited by the Prince was Chicago, which, though nothing like the Chicago of to-day, gave him a spirited and enthusiastic reception. While there his English sporting instincts were aroused, and he took a trip to Dwight for the sole purpose of shooting prairie chickens, a kind of game for which that locality was famous. Resuming his journey, he visited St. Louis October 30, and then struck out for Washington. He was warmly received by President Buchanan, and resided at the White House for five days. He paid a formal and respectful visit to the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, and then, in order to get a glimpse of slaveholding society, EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR. 487 TiBited Bichmondi Va. His reception there was of the wannest descrip- tion. He worshiped at St. Paulas Episcopal Church, where Robert E. Lee had a pew a little later, and could hardly leave the church for the multitude that crowded around him to see him and cheer him. Of his Tisit to New York one of the Prince's biographers says: "After staying a few days in Philadelphia he started for New York, where he received a splendid welcome from Father Knickerbocker, being met at the station by the mayor and driven through Broadway to the Fifth Avenue HoteL Half a million spectators saw him arrive, and so great was the anxiety to see Queen Victoria's eldest son at close quarters that there was no structure in New York large enough to con- tain those who thought that they had — ^and who no doubt had — a right to meet the Prince of Wales at a social function. "At last a building was found capable of containing six thousand people, but, looking to the question of 'crinolines and comfort,' it was reluctantly decided that not more than three thousand cards of invita- tion admitting to the ball and to the supper to follow should be sent out. Fortunately, most of the three thousand guests were important people, and, therefore, too old to dance. They represented in both senses of the word the solid element in New York society, for as they crowded around the Prince the floor gave way, and it is a wonder that no serious accident took place. This splendid entertainment, which took place in the old Academy of Music, is still remembered by many elderly Ameri- cans. The Prince showed his tact and good taste by frequently -changing his partner. For the supper a special service of china and glass hud been manufactured, the Prince's motto, 'Ich Dien,' being emblazoned on every piece." After spending five days in New York the Prince went to Albany, and then to Boston, where he met Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Ralph Waldo Emerson. He also visited Mount Auburn, and planted two trees there. Portland, Me., was the last American city that received him, and from that port he sailed for England. The Prince honored several of the universities with his presence. After studying for a session at Edinburg he entered Christ CSiurch, Oxford, where he attended the public lectures for a year. He after- ward resided for three or four years at Oambridge for the same pur- pose. In November, 1858, Prince Albert was appointed a Brevet Colonel 488 EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. hx the army, and in June, 1861, joined the camp, at the Curragh, Kildare, to go through a course of military training. He was promoted General in Noyember, 1862, and attained the rank of Field Marshal in May, 1875. He was also Colonel-in-Oiief of the Household Cavalry, the Tenth Hus- sars, and the Rifle Brigade; Captain-General of the Honorable Artillery Company and Colonel of the Gordon Highlanders. In the German army he held the rank of Field Marshal, and was also Colonel-iurChief of the Fifth Pomeranian Blucher Hussars. In the Austrian army he was Col- onel of the Twelfth Begiment of Hussara Accompanied by Dean Stanley, Prince Albert, in 1862, traveled on the Continent; visiting Germany and Italy, and thence journeyed through Egypt and Syria to Jerusalem. Upon his return he was intro- duced at the Privy Council, and took his seat in the House of Lords as the Duke of Cornwall. He was also Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duke of Saxony, Duke of Bothesay, Earl of Garrick, Earl of Dublin, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Great Steward of Scotland. He was also patron of twenty-six livings, chiefly as owner of the Duchy of Cornwall. The Prince was married March 10, 1863, at St. Qeorge^s Chapel, Windsor, to Princess Alexandra, eldest daughter of the King of Den- mark, and was at once granted an income of £40,000 per annum, exclu- sive of the revenues of the duchy, making an aggregate of £100,000 a year. At the same time he relinquished his right to the succession of the throne of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in favor of his younger brothers, by a formal aft In the following year he visited Denmark, Sweden and Prussia. Between 1864 and 1870 he visited many parts of the United Kingdom, opening expositions, laying foundation stones and perform- ing other civic functions. He went to Egypt for the second time in 1869, and examined the Suez Canal, afterward departing for Constanti- nople, Sebastopol and Athens. In July, 1870, he inaugurated the Thames embankment and opened the Workmen's National Exhibitian at Islington. Toward the close of 1871 the Prince was attacked with typhoid fever, and for some weeks his life was despaired of; but he slowly recovered and was able to take part in the memorable thanksgiving sa*vice in St Paul's Cathedral February 27, 1872. The Prince was elected Grand Master of the Free Masons in Eng- land, in succession to the Marquis of Bipon, in 1874, and in Aprils 1875, was admitted to the ofllce at a lodge held in the Albert Hall. In May, EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. 489 1876, he wafi installed at the Free Masons' Hall as first principal ot the Royal Arch Free Masons. About this time Parliament voted 1100,000 to enable him to visit India. He left Dover October 11, and landed at Cairo on the 25th, and invested Mohammed Tewfik, son of the Khedive, with the order of the Star of India. He arrived in Bombay in November, and then proceeded to Ceylon and Calcutta. After visiting all the prin- cipal cities of the Empire, he arrived in London in May, 1876. He brought home with him about five hundred animals, and these he pre- sented to the Zoological Societj^'s gardens. In the following ytear the Prince reviewed 30,000 volunteers in Hyde Park. He was appointed President of the British Commissioners at the Paris Eicposition of 1878, in which he took great interest. He attended the court festivities held in Berlin in March, 1883, to celebrate the silver wedding of the Grown Prince of Germany with the Princess Royal of England. In 1885, in company with the Princess of Wales, he made a tour of Ireland, visiting Dublin, Eillarney and Limerick. The Prince and Princess celebrated their silver wedding in 1888 and in 1889, together with their two sons, visited the Paris Exposition of that year. In May, 1891, the Prince was made a grandfather by the birth of the Duchess of Fife's daughter. In the summers of 1893 and 1894 he raced his yacht, the Britannic, in most of the chief regattas round the coast and secured many victories. In 1894 he attended the wedding of Princess Victoria Melita at Coburg, the marriage of the Osar's daughter at St. Petersburg, and the Welsh Eisteddfod, at which the Princess was admitted a bard. In the autumn of the same year he joined the Russian imperial fam- ily on the occasion of the death of the Ozar. In 1896 he won most of the principal turf races, securing the Derby at Epsom, with his horse Per- simmon, and was installed as Chancellor of the University of Wales. The following month he attended the marriage at Buckingham Palace of his second daughter, Maud, to Prince Charles of Denmark. The Prince took a prominent part in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, and attended divine service at St. PauPs Cathedral June 20, when every royal personage in London was present. The following day he was appointed Great Master and Principal Knight, Grand Cross of the Bath. In the procession on June 20 the Prince rode on the right of the Queen's carriage. He and the Princess were the guests of the Lord Mayor June 25 at the Mansion House. The most striking event in con- 490 EpWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. nection with the Diamond Jubilee was the naral reyieWy at which the Prince represented the Queen. The fleet was anchored in the Solent, and the Prince, in the Victoria and Albert, steamed down the linei receiving a salute as he passed each warship. In July, 1898, while on a visit to Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, at Waddeston Manor, the Prince slipped on the stairs and fell, fractur- ing his kneecap. An operation was fortunately resisted, and by pro- longed rest an almost complete cure was effected. The estimates of Prince Albert's character differ greatly, but the differences are mainly due to the periods at which they were made. The following is from a sketch published in London in 1895: '^The Prince is no saint, and is the last person in the world to wish to be set up on a pinnacle as such. He is subject to exactly the same weal^nesses, frailties and errors of one kind and another as ordinary mortals, and gives way to them occasionally. That he does not do so more frequently is a subject for congratulation, for certainly no man living is exposed to greater temptations. His morals are neither better nor worse than those of the majority of his countrymen, and it is pre- cisely this fact that endears him to them. The sympathy thus estab- lished between Prince and people contrasts strongly with the unpopu- larity of his father, whose blameless behavior was generally regarded by the English as a reflection on their own conduct. Ht is not, therefore, to any moral perfections that the Prince is indebted for the immense influence which he exercises, not alone in his mother's dominions, but throughout the world — ^an influence immeas- urably greater than that of many a king or emperor. Nor is it in any way attributable to the voice, which, as heir to the British throne, he might reasonably be expected to enjoy in the administration of his country's government. For his mother's sense of duty prevents him from taking any active part in the affairs of state. No; the explanation of the enormous influence that he commands is to be found in his tact. No other Prince of the blood possesses this quality to such a superlative degree. "It was by the exercise of tact that he once achieved for England, within the short space of three weeks, a victory in Russia which half a century of the most elaborate diplomacy and statecraft had failed to accomplish. It was by dint of tact that he brought about a reconcilia- tion of the Emperor William with his widowed mother, the Prince's sis- EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR. 491 i ter, and dispelled that intense animosity toward England which charac- terized the outset of the yonng Kaiser^s reign. To the same agency the British Goyemment is indebted for the smoothing over of its many dif- ferences with France. So happy has he shown himself in his dealings with this most sensitive and excitable nation that 'he can boast of a popularity on the banks of the Seine superior to that of almost any French statesman or politiciai). ^^But most of all has this tact been apparent in his management and direction of English society, which he rules with a rod of steel concealed in a sheath of velvet. He guides it as he lists, but solely by tact and exi)erience; and no prejudice, no preconceived ideas or theories are per- mitted to stand in the light of his decrees. For instance, it is thanks to him, and to him alone, that all the ill feeling toward the Jewish race has disappeared, and that Hebrews — ^who in the early days of the Victorian era were not admitted to the full rights and privileges of ordinary citi- zenship—are now to be found occupying seats in the House of Lords, on the bench of the Supreme Court of Judicature, and in the very front rank of the most smart, aristocratic and exclusive circles of society. "Probably the most striking illustration of the Prince's tact is to be found in the absolute ignorance which prevails, even among his most intimate friends and associates, concerning his political opinions. He has always manifested just as much consideration and regard for Glad- stone as for Lord Salisbury. He does not incline to the Tories any more than he does to the Liberals, and neither can claim him as a partisan. Only those who are acquainted with the violence of passions in English politics, and can recall the altogether unconstitutional par- tisanship of the various sons of George III. can realize the degree of tact which the Prince must have displayed for all these years to keep his countrymen in such absolute ignorance concerning his political views. "Perhaps the only particular in which the Prince does not display tact is in the selection of his associates. He is the most easily bored man under the sun, and any one like the late Sir James Mackenzie, who started in life a hatter, or Reuben Sassoon, the Parsee, who possesses the means of dispelling his ennui, is welcome at Marlborough House and Sandringham. Provided people succeed in amusing him, he remains indifferent to their antecedents, their principles and their character. Consequently he is occasionally seen in company with persons who are not his equals socially.'* 492 EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. Somewhat in the same line is the following passage from an article published in 1891 by Lady William Lennox: **The Prince has the faculty of never forgetting anybody once seen. He also remembers all sorts of matters connected with indiyidnals after haying once heard them, and, besides that, he is so quick and keen that nothing escapes his notice, even to the smallest detail Woe be to the man, of whatever rank, and wearing whatever official dress, if a single stripe or button is not exactly as it should be when the wearer comes before the Prince. In a second the weak point in the harness is detected by that clear, blue eye, and the error has to be remedied. '^This quickness of perception, added to a great readiness in conver- sation, makes him pleasant to meet, as he always has the right thing to say to the person he is talking to. Nothing can be more gracious than the way in which he receives his guests. For each one he appears to have a special welcome, and the smile and hearty shake of the hand must be seen and felt to be appreciated." Empires take no cognizance of grief or of monarchs that are gone. The whole machinery of state was employed on January 23, 1901, in installing the new sovereign and acclaiming him as King. There was no one living who took part or was present at these functions which were performed when Victoria took the throne, sixty-three years before, and the actors in the ceremony on this occasion were therefore guided only by tradition. This in itself was inadequate, for the progress of human knowledge and the growth of the Empire compelled certain modifications of the ancient ceremonies. It was appropriate enough before the days of telegraphs and railroads that mounted couriers should ride from town to town and heralds with trumpets should announce the accession of Queen Victoria. A portion of the quaint cere- mony was preserved. Heralds proclaimed Edward VII. as King in all parts of the Empire, but electric wires enabled its being done at practically the same moment through the realm. The King began the eventful day in his career beside the body of his beloved mother in Osborne House. Then the duties of state called him away and he began his journey to London. The route from Osborne House to Trinity pier was deserted except for a few groups of bare- headed persons when, at 9:40 o'clock, three open carriages drawn by white horses galloped down the hill. In the first carriage were the King, the Duke of Connaught, the Duke of York and Prince Christian. EDWARD yiL, KING AND EMPEROR. 493 The King looked well and bowed repeatedly in acknowledgment of the greeting^ of his subjects. The royal personages immediately embarked on board the Alberta. The royal standard was hoisted as the King touched the deck. As the Alberta started off signals were shown ordering that no salutes should be fired. The crews of the cruiser Australia and the other royal yachts were mustered as the Alberta steamed by. The commencement of his first voyage as King was a memorable and impressive event. Across the narrow channel from the Isle of Wight to the mainland the royal party proceeded without marked incident. An escort of war- ships was constantly in communication with the yacht The King and his suite entered the capital at 12:55 p. m., and proceeded directly to Marlborough House. Dense crowds, beginning at St. James' street, lined the entire route to Victoria Station from an early hour. The Mall and the front of Buck- ingham Palace were especially thronged. All along the former, from the palace to Marlborough House, carriages filled with women stood as if for a drawing-room, except that the coachmen, footmen and occupants were all dressed in mourning. The police precautions were unusual. Men on foot and mounted guarded almost every yard of the way. The crowds waited patiently for hours to greet their King. Finally, preceded by half a dozen mounted policemen, the new sovereign arrived in a plain brougham, which was driven rapidly, with the coachman and footman in their usual gray liveries, with mourning bands on their arms. An equerry was seated beside him. The King was, of course, dressed in the deepest and most simple mourning, and carefully raised his hat in acknowledgment of the silent uncovering of heads, which was more impressive than the most enthu- siastic cheers. The King looked tired and sad, but well Following him came the Duke of York, the Duke of Connaught and others. Both the King and the Duke of York looked pathetically up at Buckingham Palace as they passed, and acknowledged the salute of the guard of honor drawn up inside the palace grounds. The troops there and elsewhere showed no signs of mourning, except that the bands were not present, but all the officers had crepe on their left sleeve. The King drove to St James' Palace, from Marlborough House, to preside at the first Privy Council, by way of Marlborough House yard, the Mall and the Garden entrance of the palace. He was attended by 494 . £DWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. Lord SulBeld (who has been Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales since 1872) and was escorted liy a Captain's escort of the Horse Guards. The procedure was exactly as on levee days. By the time the King arrived a great gathering of Privy Councilors, in levee dress with crepe on their left arms, had takeh up positions in the throneroom — Cabinet Ministers, peers, commoners, Bishops, Judges, the Lord Mayor, etc., including the Duke of York, the Duke of Con- naught and lesser members of the royal family. Lord Salisbury, Lord Bosebery, A. J. Balfour, the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal and a host of the most prominent personages in the land were there to receive the King's formal oath binding him to govern the Kingdom according to its laws and customs and hear him assume the title x)f King Edward VIL of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India. The ceremony was interesting and according to precedent. The King was in a separate apartment from the Privy Councilors. To the latter the Duke of Devonshire, Lord President of the Council, formally communicated the death of Queen Victoria and the succession to the throne of her son, the Prince of Wales. The royal Dukes, with certain Lords of the Council, were then directed to repair to the King's presence to acquaint him with the terms of the Lord President's statement. Shortly afterwards His Majesty entered the room in which the Coun- cilors were assembled and addressed them in a brief speech. Mingling with the royal Dukes and great personages of the Kingdom were a few men in plain clothes to represent the fact that the general public have a nominal right to be present. The- King wore a Field Marshal's uniform and the ribbon of the Order of the Garter. When he began his speech his voice was painfully broken with emotion, but he recovered as he went on. His brief speech was delivered with great earnestness and was quite extemporaneous The Lord Chancellor (Lord Halsbury) then administered the oath of the King. Afterwards the various members of the Council, commencing with Lords in Council, took the oath of allegiance, and then passed in turn before His Majesty, as at a levee, excepting that each paused and kissed the King's hand before passing out of the chamber. This brought the ceremony to a close. By 3:30 p. m., when His Majesty returned to Marlborough House, the crowd in the neighborhood was of immense proportions. The King's EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. 495 prior journey was accomplished in almost complete silence, but on this occasion he was lustily cheered all along the line of route. Immediately opposite Marlborough House gates a tall man in fronlt of the crowd ^ waved his hat and shouted: '*Long live the KingP* whereupon the crowd cheered with redoubled vigor. The Proclamation of the accession of His Majesty was signed by the Princes present, the Duke of York first, then the Duke of Connaught, the Duke of Oambridge, Prince Christian, the Archbishop of C5anterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Mayor and the other representatives of the City of London. At 4:30 p. m. the artillery began firing salutes in St. James' Park to signalize King Edward's accession to the throne. Among the incidents of the day was an imposing civic procession. The Lord Mayor and Aldermen, accompanied by the City Marshal, mace- Dearer and other members of the corporation, escorted by a strong body of police, proceeded from the Mansion House, by way of the Thames embankment and Trafalgar square, to St. James' Palace, in gilded equipages, with liveried outriders, including twenty semi-state car- riages, making a notable picture, which was witnessed by thousands of silent people, who filled the sidewalks along the entire route. The House of Lords and the House of Commons assembled at 4 o'clock and took the oath of allegiance to the new sovereign. The attend- ance in the House of Commons was large. All the members, dressed in the deepest mourning, stood up as Speaker Gully entered and announced that, by reason of the deeply lamented decease of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, it had become their duty to take the oath of allegiance to her successor. His Majesty, King Edward VII. The Speaker then adminis- tered the oath, and the swearing in of the members proceeded. Joseph Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies; Sir Michael Hicks- Beach, the Chancellor of the EJxchequer; Sir Henry Campbell-Banner- man, the Liberal leader in the House, and Sir William Vernon Harcourt were the first to subscribe their names on the roll. In the House of Lords the oath was taken by the Duke of York, the Duke of Connaught, Earl Roberts, Lord Bosebery, Lord Salisbury, the Duke of Argyll, Lord Lansdowne and a hundred others. The House of Lords then adjourned. Many peeresses, in the deepest mourning, were in the galleries. A special gazette contained the formal announcement of the time 4»8 , EDIVARD VII.. KING AND EMPEROJi. and place of the Queen's death, and added: ^'This event hag caused one universal feeling of regret and sorrow to Her Late Majesty's faithful and attached subjects, to whom she was endeared by deep interest in their welfare, which she invariably. manifested, as well as by the many signal virtues which marked and adorned her character." Then followed a proclamation by the Privy Council, saying: ^^Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to call to His mercy our late sovereign lady Queen Victoria of blessed and glorious memory, by whose decease the imperial crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is solely and rightfully come to the high and mighty Prince Albert Edward, we, therefore, the Lords spiritual and temporal of this realm, being here assisted with those of Her Late Majesty's Privy Council, with a number of other principal gentlemen of quality, with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and citizens of London, do now hereby, with one voice, consent of tongue and heart to publish and proclaim that the high and mighty Prince Albert Edward is now, by the death of our late sovereign of happy memory, become our only lawful and rightful liege lord, Edward VII., by the Grace of God King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India, to whom we do acknowledge all faith and constant obedience, with all hearty and humble affection, beseeching God, by whom all Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the royal Prince Edward VII. with long and ' happy years to reign over us." Then followed the signatures of the Duke of York, the Duke of Con- naught, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Christian, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Ministers, members of the Privy Council, etc It is further announced that at the Council the King subscribed to the oath relating to the security of the Church of Scotland and made the following declaration: '^Your Royal Highnesses, My Lords and Gentlemen: This is the most painful occasion on which I shall ever be called upon to address you. My first and melancholy duty is to announce to you the death of my beloved mother, the Queen, and I know how deeply you and the whole nation, and, I think I may say, the whole world, sympathize with me in the irreparable loss we have all sustained. "I njeed hardly say that my constant endeavor will be to always walk in her footsteps in undertaking the heavy load which now devolves EDWARD, yil, KING AND EMPEROR. 497 upon me. 1 am fnlly determined to be a constitutional sovereign in the strictest sense of the word, and so long as there is breath in my body to work for the good and amelioration of my people. ^^I have resolved to be known by the name of JBdward, which has been borne by six of my ancestors. In doing so I do not undervalue the name of Albert, which I inherit from my ever-td-be-lamented great and wise father, who, by universal consent, is, I think, deservedly known' by the name of Albert the Qood, and I desire that his name should stand alone. ^^In conclusion, I trust to Parliament and the nation to supp<^ me in the arduous duties which now devolve upon me by inheritance, and to which I am determined to devote my whole strength during the remainder of my life.** «On the following day (January 24) London was given a glimpse of medieval times. The quaint ceremonies with which King Edward VII. was proclaimed at various points of the metropolis exactly followed ancient precedents. The officials purposely arranged the function an hour ahead of the published announcement, and the inhabitants, when they awoke, were surprised to find the entire way between St. James' Palace and the city lined with troops. About 10,000 soldiers, Life Quards, Horse Guards, Foot Guards and other cavalry and infantry regiments had been brought from Aldershot and London barracks after midnight. All the officers had crepe on their arms and the drums and brass instruments were shrouded with crepe. The troops, in themselves, made an imposing spectacle, but they were entirely eclipsed by the strange spectacle presented by the officials of the college of arms. The ceremony began at St. James* Palace, where, at 9 o'clock, Edward VII. was proclaimed King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, There was a large assemblage of officials and college heralds. Among those in attendance were General Roberts and members of his headquarters staff, and other army officers. There was a great con- course of people from the commencement to the close. The proclamation was greeted by a fanfare of trumpets. At the con- clusion of the ceremony the band belonging to the Foot Guards in the Friaiy Court played ^Qoi Save the King." The members of the King's household witnessed the ceremony from Marlborough House. 498 EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR. On the balcony overlooking the Friary Court, whence the proclama- tion was read, were the Duke of Norfolk and other officers of state. The balcony was draped in crimson cloth. Beside the officials, in resplendent uniforms, were stationed the state trumpeters. Here were seen many prominent persons, among them Sir Henry Arthur White, private solicitor to the Queen, the Duke of York and other members of the royal family. In the yard of Marlborough House and the Friary Court were sta- tioned a large body of police, soldiers and Foot Guards. The Foot Guards acted as a guard of honor, and they were posted immediately beneath the balcony. The spectators began to assemble at an early hour. The troops arrived at 8 o'clock and shortly before 9 o'clock in the morning a bril- liant calvacade passed down the Mall and entered Friary Court. It con- sisted of the headquarters staff, headed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, Field Marshal Earl Roberts, in full uniform and carrying a Marshal's baton, and Sir Evelyn Wood, the Adjutant-General of the Forces. At 9 o'clock the court dignitaries, headed by the Duke of Nor- folk, appeared on the balcony. Then the heralds blew a fanfare and Eing-at-Arms Weldon in the midst of dead silence read the proclamation. All heads were bared, and as the reading was concluded the Eing-at-Arms, raising his three-cor- npred hat, cried loudly, "God save the Eing." The crowd took up the cry, while the cheers, the fanfares of trumpets and the band playing the National Anthem made a curious medley. Eing-at-Arms Weldon read the proclamation in clear tones, which were distinctly heard at a great distance. A third fanfare of trumpets ended the ceremony. The officials then marched in procession from the balcony, through the palace, to the Ambassadors' court, where a number of royal car- riages had been placed by the direction of the Eing at the disposal of the Earl-Marshal. These took the officials, who read the proclamation, to the city, escorted by a detachment of Horse Guards, forming a picturesque and gorgeous procession. The contingent from the College of Arms was composed of three Kings-at'Arms, four heralds and eight pursuivants. The costumes of the two latter were gorgeous beyond compare. They wore tat>ardB, a EDWARD VI L, KING AND, EMPEROR. 499 garment resembling the costume of kings as depicted on playing cards. These tabards were beautifully and heavily embroidered with silk lions, the royal coat of arms, and flowers in bewildering profusion. There was the rouge dragon, the blue mantle and the maltravers, with all the armorial bearings of that quaint old body, the College of Arms, in full and solemn array. A blare of trumpets announced the progress of the cavalcade as it proceeded through Trafalgar square and the Strand. The chief interest of the morning centered in the entrance of the heralds' procession into the city at Temple Bar. The gray minarets of the law courts and the tall spires of the Strand churches loomed, phantom-like, out of the fog, while a long, double line of overcoated troops stood, chilled and motionless, along the half* deserted streets. The clocks in the law courts and St. Dunstan's tolled out mournfully the quarter-hours till 9:15, when out of the gray mist, from within the city boundary, appeared a procession of carriages forming the Lord Mayor's cortege. It was there that the two processions were to merge into kaleido- scopic grandeur. The Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Aldermen and Mace-bear- ers, in scarlet, fur-trimmed robes, cocked hats, ruffled shirts, silk knee breeches and low buckled shoes, peered out from the CSnderella-like coaches that would have been the envy of Alice in Wonderland. Overhead, in the midst of pageant, the great Oriffin, which marks the city boundary, spread its wide, fantastic wings, like some great Hindoo god. In their gold liveries, the white-wigged coachmen of the Lord Mayor looked down contemptuously upon the soldier, herald and peer. In the olden days a veritable bar, or gate, separated the city from without. On this occasion ten strong policemen stretched a red silken rope across the thoroughfare, in honor of the city's ancient privileges. As the clocks struck the time, the officer in command of the troops cried "Attention!" The rifle stocks came down with a click upon the asphalt pavement, and two gold-laced trumpeters appeared at the Griffin's side. The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, Mace-bearers, Chaplain, Bemembrancer and the white-wigged Judges of the city courts left their carriages and grouped themselves together between the lines of drawn-up troops. Th&x the City Marshal, who was on horseback, wearing a uniform of 600 EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. scarlet, gold-laced, with scarlet plumes, rode up to the barrier and the Norroy Eing-ofArms, whose green and gold tabard outshone those of his colleagues, appeared at the iniaginary bar. His trumpeter blew a shrill blast, which th^ Lord Mayor's trumpeters answered, and then the atj Marshal rode up to the barrier and demanded ''Who goes there ?^ The Norroy Eing-of-Arms replied that it was the King's Herald, come to read a proclamation. ^nter, Herald," said the Marshal, and the Herald was conducted to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, who were still grouped in the streets. The Herald then read the proclamation to which the Mayor and Aldermen replied: "We, with one voice, consent, tongue and heart, pledge allegiance to King Edward VII." The trumpeters blew a blast, while the wondering crowd stood bare- headed and silenced, not knowing what to do, till a military band in the procession struck up ^'Qod Save the King." This familiar air has still but one meaning in England, and the crowd took up the words feebly, with "God Save the King" on the tongue, but with "God Save the Queen" in mind. King Edward published in a special issue of the Gazette letters to the i>eople of Great Britain and the colonies thanking them for their sympathy on the death of the Queen and their expressions of loyalty to himself upon his accession to the throne. The King's letter to the people of Great Britain is as follows: "Windsor Castle, February 4, 1901. "To My People: Now that the last scene has closed in the noble, ever-glorious life of my beloved mother, the Queen, I am anxious to endeavor to convey to the whole Empire the extent of the deep gratitude I feel for the heart-stirring, affectionate tributes which are everywhere borne to her memory. I wish also to express my warm recognition of those universal expressions of what I know to be genuine, loyal sym- pathy with me and the royal family in our overwhelming sorrow. Such expressions have reached me from all parts of my vast empire, while at home the sorrowful, reverent and sincere enthusiasm manifested in the magnificent display by sea and land deeply touches me. "The consciousness of this generous spirit of devotion and loyalty among the millions of my subjects and of the feeling that we aU are sharing in a common sorrow has inspired me with courage and hope during the last most trying and momentous days. EDWARD VII.. KING AND EMPEROR. 501 ^'Encouraged by confidence in that love and triiBt which the nation ever reposed in its late and fondly mourned Sovereign, I shall strive earnestly to walk in her footsteps, devoting myself to the utmost of my powers to maintaining and promoting the highest interests of my people « and to a diligent and zealous fulfillment of the great and sacred respon- sibilities which, through the will of Qod, I am now called upon to under- take, EDWABD, R. V Following is the King's address to the colonies: ^'To My People Beyond the Seas: The countless messages of loyal sympathy that I have received from every part of my dominions ov6r seas testify to the universal grief in which the whole empire now mourns the loss of my beloved mother. "In the welfare and prosperity of her subjects throughout Greater Britain the Queen ever evinced a heartfelt interest. She saw with thankfulness the steady progress which, under the wide extension of self-government, they had made during her reign. She warmly appre- ciated their unfailing loyalty to her throne and person, and was proud to think of those who had so nobly fought and died for the empire's cause in South Africa* "I already have declared that it will be my constant endeavor to follow the great example which has been bequeathed to me. In these endeavors I shall have confident trust in the devotion and sympathy of the people and of their several representative assemblies throughout my vast colonial dominions. "With such loyal support I will, with the blessing of God, solemnly work for the promotion of the common welfare and security of our great empire over which I have now been called to reign. "EDWARD, B. I." When King Edward VII. ascended the throne the natural question in the public's mind was, "What sort of a King will Queen Victoria's eldest son prove to be?" Many questioned his ability to take an active part in the direction of the affairs of the nation, and gave as their' reason the fact that his lack of experience and his distaste for state- craft, would necessitate his becoming a mere figurehead, and that the real government would be left entirely to his Ministers. There can be no greater mistake made than to ascribe any such inactive part as this to Albert Edward. In the first place, he has a far greater knowledge of foreign and domestic politics than the general public for one moment imagines. From the time of his return from India, more than a quarter of a century ago, the Foreign Office, by 502 EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. direction of Queen Victoria, made a practice of forwarding to him at the same time as to herself a copy of each important dispatch received from abroad, and likewise of the replies sent thereto, thanks to which he was enabled on at least three memorable occasions to bring about under- standings with foreign powers that the most brilliant of professional diplomats had signally failed to accomplish. And while, with a tact and a regard for the spirit of the constitution unparalleled on the part of any other Prince of Wales in English history, he refrained from giving the slightest indication of his preferences for one or another of the great political parties in Great Britain, the interest with which he followed the debates upon all important issues in Parliament precluded all idea that he looked upon national affairs with indifference. That he is debarred by the terms of the constitution from taking, as sovereign, any active part in the government of the empire, or is reduced to the position of a mere figurehead, is likewise an altogether mistaken assumption. For the conduct of the international relations of the British Empire is vested by the terms of the constitution, not in Parlia- ment, nor yet in the latter's executive — ^that is to say, the Cabinet — but in the monarch. It is the prerogative of the sovereign. For the consti- tution takes the ground that ^^it is impossible that the individuals of the state in their collective capacity can transact th€ affairs of that state with another community equally numerous as themselves. In the sov- ereign, therefore, as in a center, all the rays of the people are united and form by that union of consistency the splendor and power that makes the monarch respected by foreign countries.*' What is done by the sovereign with regard to foreign affairs is therefore the act of the whole nation and is binding upon the latter. Whatever agreement, whatever treaties or conventions the sovereign may make with a foreign state, no other power in the empire, not even Parliament, can "legally delay, resist, or annul." True, the Minister of the Crown who is believed to / have advised the monarch wrongly can be impeached by Parliament But this impeachment in no way affects the validity of the agreement thus indirectly condemned by Parliament, or in any way annuls It. Legislative sanction and ratification are therefore not required in England for treaties or international arrangements concluded by the sovereign, either directly or through the Foreign Minister, and whereas the latter^s colleagues in the Cabinet are responsible to Parliament, he alone, according *to the terms of the British constitution, is respon- EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. 503 sible solely to the monarch and acts as the delegate of the latter. Tljiiis, will show, therefore, that the new ruler of the British Empire, by the terms of the English constitution, assumes sole and absolute control of the foreign policy of the United Kingdom and that he is thoroughly qualified by experience and by his knowledge of international affairs for the task. With regard to domestic politics and affairs^ it is perfectly true that the prerogatives of the sovereign are restricted to a greater degree, but not to the extent which appears to be generally believed. , No statute can be enacted or repealed, no new measure put into force, so far as domestic affairs are concerned, save with the knowledge and the sanc- tion of the duly elected representatives of the people assembled in Parliament. But, on the other hand. Parliament cannot enact any law, repeal any statute, or put any new measure into force without the con- sent of the sovereign, which may be given or withheld as the monarch sees fit. There have been numerous instances, though not in the reign of Queen Victoria, of sovereigns withholding the royal assent to meas- ures enacted by Parliament, the last case having been when King George lY. declined in 1829 to give his consent to the measure passed by both Houses of the National Legislature admitting Roman Catholics for the first time to the offices of State. It may be added that the King was ultimately persuaded by Lord Eldon to give way in the matter. It is this faculty of giving or withholding the royal signature that virtually places supreme power in the hands of the English Sovereign, for it is not only every Parliamentary measure, but likewise every administrative act of any importance that must receive the monarch's sign-manual before it can be put into force or become endowed with any degree of validity. During the last quarter of a century of Queen Victoria's reign it has been estimated that she was obliged to put her signature to at least 70,000 official documents of one kind or another in the year, or 200 a day, and the new King, like his mother, may be trusted to show himself, not only too conscientious, but likewise too jealous of his prerogatives, ever to affix his signature to any paper before he has read and mastered its contents. Another but little known prerogative of the British Sovereign is the constitutional right to dismiss either a single Cabinet Minister or else the entire administration, if either have ceased to enjoy the con- fidence of the monarch. It does not matter whether the Cabinet has 504 EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. a Parliamentarj majority or not, and srtndentB of history may remember that in 1834 King William IV. tamed out the administration of Lord Melbourne, which had an enormous majority in the Ck>mmon8, without any other reason than that the Cabinet had ceased to enjoy his confi- dence. Although the Liberal party was extremely indignant at this dismissal, which even the leading Conservatives looked upon as ill- judged, no one attempted to deny its perfect legality. These facts are mentioned to show that the British monarch is far less of a figurehead and of a dummy than is asserted in print, not only abroad, but even in England itself, presumably by scribes who have never taken the trouble to make themselves acquainted with the con- stitutional history of the British Empire. Those who have had the privilege of being personally acquainted with the Prince of Wales, and who, therefore, have some knowledge of his personality and chantcter, have reason for believing that while manifesting the breadth of view and the liberal sentiments that have characterized his social reign during the last four decades, he will, on the other hand, exercise to their fullest extent the rights and prerogatives that are granted to him by the terms of the British constitution. He is thoroughly alive to the progress of the democratic movement in the old world, and possessed of too much common sense not to appreciate that some of the demands which it puts forward are justified, and if one may indulge in any speculation as to the policy which Albert Edward is likely to pursue, it is probable that it will be less conservative than Liberal-Unionist. But whatever happens, the new monarch, who now becomes supreme head of the Church of England, and "Defender of the Faith,'' will certainly never show himself to be a rot faineant. Royalty and riches do not always run together. The Queen of the British Empire received, as we used to be told at school, "£1,000 a day and £20,000 on her birthday." The Queen's official income of £385,000 a year was half a million less than the Emperor of Austria, £200,000 less than King Victor's, £100,000 less than the Shah of Persia's, and only half as much as the Kaiser's. But there is no doubt that Her Majesty got along very well on th^ allowance which she received from the British people. It is not difficult to understand how the fable of King Edward's poverty while Prince of Wales got abroad. The special grant of £36,000 a year in 1889 probably had something to do with it. There is a stoiy i-b^ EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR. 505 that when traveling incognito In France at the end of the Franco-Ger- man war the Prince of Wales, with his equerry, Oeneral Teesdale, was obliged to pawn his watch to pay his hotel bill, but such stories are told of every monarch* They may be true enough, but nothing would be more absurd than to imagine that they indicate anything more than absent-mindedness. Yet it is on foundations quite as shadowy that the pile of gossip and scandal about the Prince of Wales^ poverty has been built up. The truth is that from the moment of his birth the Prince of Wales was splendidly rich. He was born, as the Irishman would say, with sixty thousand a year in his pocket, and from that day to this the Duchy of Cornwall has yielded him that magnificjent sum. At twenty- two the Prince of Wales married and Parliament gave him Marlborough House and a wedding present of £40,000 a year. That,- too, came to him regularly after 1863, year in and year out In 1889, when the Princess family ran away with his money, Parliament once more came to his aid and nearly doubled the grant he had received since 1863. From 1889 the Prince was relieved of the anxieties of a father for the financial welfare of his children by a special grant of £36,000 a year, which came to him in quarterly instalments of £9,000. So that the public income of the Prince of Wales was £136^000 a year. We know, however, that the Prince had a private source of income — ^his estates. Sandringham, which he purchased out of his early savings, had a rental of £7,000 a year, bringing his income, as we know it, to within a few thousand of £150,000 a year. The House of Commons, when the Prince was receiving £100,000 a year, increased his allowance by £36,000, but the grant was by no means unanimous, a fact which shows that a considerable section of Parliament regarded the Prince as sufficiently rich. The grant was made, it may be remembered, to prevent applications to Parliament for royal children, a quarterly payment of £9,000 a year being allowed out of the consolidated fund, from which the Prince would be able to <^make such assignments and in such manner to his children as H. B. H. should in his discretion think fit." Though the proposal was strongly recommended by a select com- mittee and supported by Mr. Gladstone, there was a strong opposition from some whom Mr. Chamberlain called the '^nihilists of English politics*' — among them Mr. John Morley and Sir William Harcourt. 606 EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. There had been considerable opposition, too, in the House of C!ommonB and in Hyde Park, to the public payment of the expenses of the Prince's Indian tour. The Prince spent seventeen weeks in India, and the bill came to over £1,000 a day. The Admiralty spent £52,000 in connection with the voyage^ the Indian Government spent £30,000 on the reception, and Parliament gave the Prince £60,000 to spend on himself. Totaling up all his Parliamentary grants, his revenues from the Duchy of Cornwall, his rental from Sandringham, and his income from miscellaneous sources, he had enough money to make him a millionaire many times over if money had not a habit of running away. The account stands, in round figures, something like £6,106,000. Six millions of pounds! Thirty million dollars! Roughly, it is an income of £100,000 a year through the whole of his life. Every day the heir to the British throne had an income of £274 5s; every hour, £11 8s 3d; every minute, 3s 9^d. Every time the clock has ticked since the light of Albert Edward dawned on the world his wealth has grown by three farthings. It looks undignified enough brought down to farthings, but £6,000,000 — forty-five tons of English gold, more than the mint makes in a year — ^is an income to be proud of, even in these money-worshiping days. But it is not to be supposed, of course, that H. B. H. was a million- aire six times over. If being a Prince means much taking, it means much giving and spending, too. The Prince of Wales has given away more money than many people know, and everybody knows that he was generosity itself in his private life. It is said that he never gave a "cabby" less than half a sovereign, and everywhere he dispensed what we may call his "pocket patronage^' on the same generous scale. He paid, contrary to popular belief, for all his boxes at the theater. And, again, contrary to popular belief, he paid for all his telegrams, letters and parcels. Telegrams and stamps cost the Prince £1,000 a year. Like ordinary citizens, too, H. B. H. paid his taxes regularly for Marlborough House, which, though it is the oflScial residence of the heir apparent, is a private house for taxation purposes. The Prince paid over £1,000 a year in taxes to St. Martin's parish. We get some idea of what it costs to be a Prince of Wales from the fact that the Princess military wardrobe was valued at £15,000, and was fully insured for that amount. Every army title the Prince EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. 507 possessed required four complete uniforms — full dress, undress, mess dress and overcoat His p^iyate saloon carriage at Boulogne, in which he usually traveled on the continent, cost £7,000, and his stables at Marlborough House cost £25,000. On his marriage the Prince bought a silver dinner service, which was always used on Derby days^ for £20,000. A glance at the Prince of Wales' donations affords an interesting study in royal charity. The Prince's charity was as a Prince's charity should be, as cosmopolitan as it well can be. The subscription list of the Prince of Wales was broad. His public donations, his annual subscriptions are common knowl- edge— ^buried away in newspaper files, but, at any rate, not so secret that the left hand does not know what the right hand doeth. In the first twenty-five years of his married life over 700 donations by the Prince of Wales were recorded, amounting in the aggregate to some- thing over £40,000 — an average of about £60 each. That, however, takes no account of annual subscriptions, which are reckoned only once. The Prince's annual subscriptions^ as we shall see, numbered of late years between eighty and ninety, with an average of about £22 10s. If we suppose that this average was maintained for fifteen years of the period under consideration — many of the subscriptions being, of course, of comparatively recent date— we shall have to add something like 1,200 subscriptions and £27,000 to our figures. This brings the total up to £67,000. It is interesting to know how H. B. H. distributed his charity, and we may classify this quarter of a century's list of donations under certain heads. We find, then, that the list stands like this, giving round figures: Benevolent institutions £ 9,710 Educational and intellectual 7,450 Religious 7,130 Social, moral and physical improvement 5,900 Hospitals and infirmaries 3,280 Asylums, etc 1,800 Orphanages 1,320 Commerce and agriculture 990 Foreigners in distress 710 Relief of children 680 Women's agencies 670 608 BDiVARD VIL. KING AND EMPEROR. \ \ Deaf and dumb 260 Convalescent homes 240 BUnd 80 Total £40,220 In the same twenty-five years H. B* H. contributed £3,083 toward fifty-two memorials and statues, besides giving £10,000 toward the mausoleum at Frogmore. He built Wolferton schools, too, and presided at scores, of dinners and festive gatherings in the interests of charity. The Prince of Wales, Mr. Bhodes would say, was the greatest asset in the world as a chairman. At a Freemason's dinner over which the Prince presided a collection was made of over £50,000, the biggest Freemason collection in the histoid of the world, and there are dozens of insta.nce8 which might be quoted to show that the presence of the Prince acted like magic with men's purses. It is probable, indeed, that the Prince did aa much for charity by his example as by his purse. The Prince of Wales, like the Archbishop of Canterbury, was the patron saint of a thousand little worlds. It is one of the penalties of being a Prince. But we must not forget to allow for special calls. Indian famines, war funds, hospital appeals, every great calamity, every occasion of great distress, meant that the Prince of Wales must put his hand into his pocket In the first twenty-five years of his married life these special calls accounted for £40,000, and if we reckon them since 1887 at the same rate we find that they roughly double the annual subscriptions^ We may reckon, therefore, that the Prince gave away something like £3,200 a year in public philanthropy. There was considerable discussion at the time of King Edward's accession to the throne regarding the manner in which Parliament would deal with the question of the maintenance of the new King and Queen in a style befitting the dignity and the grandeur of the British Empire. The arrangements made by Queen Victoria with the House of Commons when she succeeded her uncle, King William IV., according to the terms of which the amount of her civil list was fixed at about 92,000,000 a year, was only for the duration of her reign, and terminated with her death. ■I r 1 r I ^"-^ EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR, 509 There is no point in connectpn with tlie English royal family concerning which a greater amount of misconception prevails than this matter of the civil list A widespread belief exists to the effect that the 92,000,000 a year paid to Queen Victoria throughout her reign of more than six decades was in the nature of a salary for her services as Sovereign, identically in the same fashion as are the |50,000 per annum paid by the United States Treasury to the President of the Republic. This impression has been industrially propagated and strengthened by the ultra-radical element in the United Kingdom^ which is never tired of expatiating on the costliness of the monarchy and of holding up the members of the royal family to obloquy and contempt as needy pensioners on the bounty of the British taxpayer. Nothing can be further from the truth than these charges. The Princes and Princesses of the blood are in no sense of the word pensioners of the national treasury, nor is the monarchy a burden upon the revenues of the United Kingdom. The Sovereign possesses by right of inheritance an immense amount of extremely valuable property, known by the name of Crown property, which belongs to him ex-officio as a species of life tenant, much in the same way that the majority of the territorial magnates in England hold their entailed ancestral estates. That is to say, the Crown property cannot be alienated by the Sovereign for any period beyond the length of his reign, just as the owner of an entailed country place cannot lease it or otherwise dispose of it for any term beyond the term of his own life, save with the legal consent of his immediate heirs. Following the example of her uncle, King William IV., Queen Victoria at the outset of her reign made an arrangement with Parliament and with the treasury, whereby, in return for her surrender to the State of the major i)ortion of the Crown prop- erty for the duration of her life, she received in return an undertaking from the nation to furnish her with a civil list of nearly |2,000,000 a year, and to provide adequate allowances for the Princes and Princesses of the ^oyal house. It was not the Queen or her family who made the best of this^ bargain, but the State — that is to say, the taxpayers. For, owing to the ' careful management and extraordinary development of the Crown property, coupled with the amazing growth in the value of building land during the last sixty years, the treasury has, during the greater portion of the Queen's reign, managed to net profits of f600,000, and 510 EDWARD VII., KING AND EMPEROR. du^ng the last quarter of a century of over 11,000,000 a year, from the proceeds of the Crown property after all the expenses of its man- agement, the civil list of the Queen, and the allowances of the royal Princes and. Princesses had been deducted. So that instead of Queen Victoria and her family having been a source of any expense to the national exchequer, it is probable that they have benefited the State to the extent of at least |30,000,000— that is to say, they have relieved the taxpayer from that amount of flscaj burden, thanks to the bargain concluded by Queen Victoria with Parliament some four-and-slxty years ago. The allowances subsequently asked of Parliament by the Queen for her children and for the members of the royal family in accordance with this arrangement were exceedingly modest. The eldest child of the Queen — namely, her daughter Victoria, now widowed Empress Fred- erick of Germany — received an allowance for her life of f40,000 per annum. King Edward while still Prince of Wales was obliged to con- tent himself until his children grew up with an allowance of ^200,000, which on the marriage of his son and of two of his daughters was increased by another |175,000 a year for the purpose of enabling him to make provision therefrom for them. King Edward's sailor brother Alfred received, like his ypunger brother Arthur, Duke of Ck)nnaught, 1125,000 a year. But on Alfred succeeding to the German throne of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha he relinquished the major i)ortion of his English allowance, which was reduced to f50,000 a year. The three younger daughters of the late Queen have each received 130,000 a year in addi- tion to the 1150,000 down which they received at the time of their wedding, and similar annuitieg^of 130,000 a year are granted to the widows of King Edward's brothers, the late Dukes of Coburg and Albany. When one reflects what a little way annuities of 130,000 a year, and even of |125,000 a year, go in these days of colossal fortunes and of extravagant expenditure, and that the recipients of these allowances are expected to maintain royal state and to take the lead in all public charities and philanthropic undertakings, it will be admitted that not only was the late Queen Victoria singularly modest in the demands which she made upon Parliament for the maintenance of the memb«8 of the royal family but that the latter likewise deserve an immense amount of credit for having managed to live within their income. At \ EDWARD VIL, KING AND EMPEROR. . 511 any rate, Parliament has never been called upon to pay any of their debts, even out of the profits derived from the state management of Crown property. Neither Queen Victoria nor her eldest son was entirely dependent upon the allowances which they received from the Treasury in respect to the Crown property. Thus the Queen retained, as she had a right to do, the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster, which, after deduction of all expenses, amount to about |300,000 per annum, while King Edward, when still Prince of Wales, derived a similar amount every year from the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, which have been the property of the heir to the throne for more than eight centuries. More- over, Queen Victoria, of course, retained possession for her life of the royal palaces, art treasures, and of the royal parks of Windsor, all of which are Crown property, in which also are comprised all the gold and silver plate and the Crown jewels, worth several millions of pounds sterling, all of which were turned over to King Edward, but for his life only. \ It entirely depended upon King Edward to determine whether he would resume i)ossession of the so splendidly developed Crown property with its enormously increased revenues, and thus render himself and the members of the reigning family financially independent of Parliament and of the supervision of the Treasury, thus putting an end once and for all time to the radical plaint as to the costliness of royalty, or whether he would follow the example of his mother and of his granduncle. King William IV., and consent to leave the Crown property in the hands of the State in return for an adequate provision for himself, for his Queen, and for the Princes and Princesses of his house. Edward VII. has come to the throne when nearly sixty years of age, so that in the course of nature his reign cannot be an exceedingly long one. It may be expected, however, as it is hoped by the friends of civilization in all the world, that he will leave behind him a name and a record of his sovereignty worthy of his noble father and bis great and good mother. N ^NT %. • ,-w.*^-^ •» ^^^ .^ r ^w- "^Tl * .^ .. I i I %